


Never Let Me Go

by AlexArtemesia



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alya Césaire Ships It, Angst, Drama & Romance, Evil Lila Rossi, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Identity Reveal, Lila - Freeform, Lucky Charm And Miraculous Ladybugs Cure | Ladybug Miraculous Superpowers Don't Fix Everything, Minor Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Nino Lahiffe Ships It, POV Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, POV Alya Césaire, POV Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth, POV Lila Rossi, POV Marinette Dupain-Cheng, POV Nathalie Sancoeur, POV Plagg (Miraculous Ladybug), POV Tikki (Miraculous Ladybug), Peacock Nathalie Sancoeur | Mayura, Plagg Is So Done (Miraculous Ladybug), Post-Episode: s03 Chat Blanc, Tags May Change, Tikki Is So Done (Miraculous Ladybug)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:09:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 22,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27651836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexArtemesia/pseuds/AlexArtemesia
Summary: Some secrets just can't be kept, no matter how hard you try. Some things are simply meant to be.-This fic will become part of a collection but at present, my plot bunnies are running amok with nothing to leash them. So I'm capping this at the currently out chapters and will hopefully update the next in the collection soon! Thank you to everyone who's reviewed and left kudos!
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Plagg/Tikki (Miraculous Ladybug)
Comments: 54
Kudos: 124





	1. Chat Noir

**Author's Note:**

> I have been wanting to write a MLB fic for the last little while now, I just could not figure out what to write about. I tried doing a prompt and everything, but could never figure out how to start it. That is until I finally watched Chat Blanc. 
> 
> It wrecked me, y'all. Nobody should do my sweet Chaton like that, and I really didn't like how easily Marinette just seemed to move on. I realize that a lot of that could be attributed to the Miraculous solution but I just... She remembered. So this fic is my response to the episode. There's a canon divergence in that it takes place after the events of Chat Blanc, but it kind of tacks on to the end of the episode and goes on from there. 
> 
> I also have them aged up a bit to have them attending Lycee instead of College (so they're 17/18 instead of 13/14). It gives me the excuse that they've got a bit stronger of a bond as Ladybug and Chat Noir than in canon and that Marinette is a bit calmer on her Adriene obsession. 
> 
> Miraculous: Tales Of Ladybug and Cat Noir © Thomas Astruc, Jeremy Zag

Something had been different about Ladybug ever since that day. She looked at him differently, and Chat knew that whatever had caused her to call him to that rooftop so out of the blue had impacted her far more heavily than she was letting on. 

When he’d arrived to see her already there backlit by the sunset sky, he hadn’t expected her to fly into his arms. Hadn’t expected her to be crying, and apologizing. He’d held his Lady as she sobbed against his chest, wondering what had happened to her that he couldn’t protect her from. He had tried to ask, but she’d been stubborn, side-stepping his queries even as tears leaked from crystalline blue eyes to soak into the front of his super suit.

Under any other circumstances, Chat would be over the moon. His Lady, his Ladybug, was willingly in his arms, willingly resting her head on his chest, just to feel the reassurance of his heartbeat beneath her ear. But he understood the desperation in her eyes and felt it still in the way her hand hadn’t uncurled from his shoulder. This wasn’t a declaration of her love for him, not in the way he had dreamt of or supposed. No, this was a need, and it was a need that Chat recognized all too well. 

So he let her cry, stroking her hair and crooning to her that it was alright. That they were both safe, and that whatever had happened, whatever would happen, he’d be there beside her, as he always was. He held her until the rich oranges and pinks faded to inky blues and muted purples, and the first stars of the evening began to dot the Paris skyline. He held her until her trembling stopped and then held her because she didn’t move from his arms.

Eventually, Ladybug had pulled herself away from him, and the cold air that rushed between them chilled his touch-warmed skin. She murmured her apologies, but he’d gently smoothed them away. She’d needed this, needed him, and he was more than happy to provide. He waited until she’d disappeared from his view before sitting and detransforming, looking over the Paris skyline while Plagg noisily ate his weight in cheese beside him. 

“Do you know what that was about?” He asked the kwami, keeping his gaze on the distant specks of glittering light. He saw Plagg look up at him, green eyes glowing in the darkness. 

“I thought it was obvious, kid.” He replied in his usual drawl, though he made no effort to return to his meal. Despite his attempts at seeming unaffected, it was clear that Ladybug’s actions had rattled the Chaos deity too. 

Adrien didn’t know what to do about this. He sighed, running his fingers through his hair and leaning back against the wide edge he sat on. Almost without his permission, a soft song spring to his lips, and before he really knew what he was doing, he was singing under his breath.  
“Little kitty on a roof, all alone without his lady…”


	2. Tikki

Marinette fell face-first onto her bed the moment she landed back in the safety of her bedroom and detransformed. Tears still choked her, and she hugged her pillow to her chest as she sobbed anew for all the things she hadn’t been able to tell Chat. 

“Marinette…” Tikki crooned, stroking the girl’s hair in sympathy. It had killed her too, seeing her partner like that, and all the little luck kwami wanted to do was rush to find Plagg and see if he was alright… Surely he’d felt something off? But now was not the time; Now, she had to help console her Chosen, because as much as Chat Noir had done for her, there was so much that couldn’t be said. 

“I almost lost him, Tikki!” Marinette’s muffled cry made the kwami wince, remembering the cold blue of Chat Blanc’s eyes and how much hatred had filled them when he’d been chasing Ladybug. “I almost lost him because of a stupid mistake!” 

Tikki was old enough by now to know when to hold her tongue. Now was not the time to chastise the teenager’s brash decisions or her love-struck foolishness. She’d righted it, in the end, and Tikki understood just how much pain that action caused. Because unlike when their usual Miraculous Ladybugs had swept through and cleansed everything… Marinette remembered. She remembered everything. 

Which meant…

“He knew who I was, Tikki,” Marinette hiccupped, lifting her face from the pillow so that she could be heard more clearly, even as she curled around it as if she’d been hit in the stomach. “He knew who I was, and said we’d been in love… I…” More tears leaked from the girl’s eyes, and not for the first time, Tikki’s heart broke for her Chosen. It was often like this, for her Ladybugs. It was part of the magic of the Miraculous, and part of the curse of being their holders. There was always the pain of being apart from your other half. It was a burden all chosen shared with their kwami.

“I’ll never be able to tell him, will I?” Marinette asked, looking up. 

“Tell him what?” Tikki asked, suspicious at the suddenly deadened look in Marinette’s gaze, worried that she’d missed something in her ruminations. What was Marinette talking about?

“I’ll never be able to tell Adrien that I love him… If I want to keep a future with Chat Blanc from happening.” 

Tikki’s blood ran cold.


	3. Plagg

It had taken him hours to get Adrien to calm down enough to go to sleep. He’d been jumpy and riled up and pacing in his bedroom for hours, sure that he needed to go flying about Paris to find his Lady and console her still.

Plagg managed to remind the boy that she likely had detransformed by now, and there was no way of him knowing who she was without her costume, and although that hadn’t exactly helped the situation, it had gotten Adrien to stop pacing.

He’d instead sat on the bed staring at the beret that stupid girl had put on his pillow with the look of someone who recognized it from somewhere before. Eventually, exhaustion had overcome him and when his grip had slackened enough, Plagg had slipped the beret out of Adrien’s grip, putting it in the cupboard he’d stored all the rest of Marinette’s ill-conceived gifts in. She damn-well didn’t make it easy to keep her identity secret, and the next time he saw Tikki he was going to give her an earful about not--

“Plagg!”

The bad-luck kwami whipped around, startled that his thoughts could summon her so readily as a familiar red form barrelled into him, holding on for dear life. The moment the two of them touched, oh _camembert_ it felt like coming home.

“Sugarcube! What’re you doing here?”

“I had to make sure you were okay! I had to see if…” Tikki pulled back, and Plagg almost followed, reluctant to break their contact. Creation and Chaos were not supposed to be apart, they were one and the same, but… “Are you okay?”

“Aw, you were worried about little old me?” Plagg drawled, trying to lighten the mood and the concern in her eyes, but her bottom lip trembled and he choked on his next joke. “I’m fine, Sugarcube… Ladybug fixed the mess she made.”

“Does Adrien…?”

“He doesn’t remember a thing, but your Chosen has got to stop being so reckless!”

“I know, she knows, she…” Tikki bit her lip, and Plagg realized it was something she’d picked up from her Chosen-before-Marinette.

“Come over here, he might hear us.” Plagg took her hand in his and there was that shockwave of rightness again, but he wouldn’t let himself focus on it. “What’s got you so upset, Tikki?” The startled look she gave him almost made him smile; he never called her by her name.

“She knows, Plagg. She knows who Chat Noir is.” Tikki worried her antenna and wouldn’t bring her eyes to his. “She remembers what Chat Blanc said… And she remembers what she did before that… She put it together, Plagg. What do we do?”

“What have we done before, Sugarcube?” Plagg asked not unkindly, shooting a furtive glance toward Adrien’s prone form on the bed to make sure he hadn’t stirred. His chest was still rising and falling regularly, thank goodness. “Are you willing to leave your Chosen?”

“What? No!” Tikki swiped her arms in an X in front of her. “She… She’s willing to give up her… Her love for him. For Adrien. To keep Chat Blanc from ever happening again.” The words died on Plagg’s tongue and Tikki’s eyes filled with tears.

The two kwami came together to console one another, Misfortune holding a very unlucky feeling Lady Luck, both of them unaware of Adrien laying on his bed, eyes wide and tear-filled, one hand over his mouth to stifle his own sobs.


	4. Marinette

She didn’t want to be at school today. 

Not because she had any particular reason, mind you, but because she didn’t really feel like she could handle it all. Tikki had left last night after she had thought Marinette had gone to sleep, and for a moment, Marinette had been terrified that she wasn’t coming back. But she had in the early hours of dawn and curled up against Marinette’s cheek as if she’d always been there. Marinette didn’t ask where she’d gone, and Tikki didn’t volunteer the information. 

It was the first real secret between them.

It had been an effort to get out of bed, and although she put on a brave face for her parents, she could tell that they knew something was wrong. Alya too, when she met up with Marinette at the front steps of the Lycee. 

“Girl, what’s wrong? You look like you didn’t sleep at all last night.” Alya looked her over worriedly and glanced around, then spoke more softly, “is it about Adrien?”

Marinette felt something catch in her throat and it must have shown on her face because Alya swore and pulled her into a fierce hug that nearly made Marinette unravel. She wished that she could talk to her about it, and for the briefest moment risked the idea of just telling Alya that she was Ladybug. It wasn’t as though she didn’t already know that Alya was Rena Rouge, and at the very least she’d have somebody who knew _everything,_ then. 

The only thing that kept her from saying it then was Nino approaching them, concern etched onto his face. 

“Yo, Marinette, what’s wrong?” He asked, and she shook her head, mustering a smile. 

“I’m… I’m fine, really! I just didn’t sleep well last night, had some really awful dreams.” She swiped the heel of her palm against her eyes quickly and fought the tremor out of her voice. Alya didn’t look convinced but didn’t seem to want to push it for once, and for that Marinette was grateful. 

It was still strange, going to Lycee. Most of their College class had dissipated into the new school, to the point that it was only Nino, Alya, herself and… Marinette shied away from even thinking his name. They still saw their other friends, but because of schedules, it was far less frequently than it’d been before. 

So, here she was, sitting in the familiar spot next to Alya in a still unfamiliar school, trying her best to focus on the lecture and not on the ache in her chest that threatened to swallow her whole. She could feel Tikki in her purse trying to reach out to her and console her, but there was only so much the kwami could do through so many layers of thick fabric.

Then he walked in. 

Adrien looked, for once, just about as bad as Marinette felt, and she wondered for a sickening moment if there were any negative side-effects to her time-hopping with Bunnyx that nobody had bothered to tell her. He seemed unusually dishevelled and tired, and when he slid into his spot beside Nino, he didn’t answer his friend’s concerned inquiry. Instead, he turned right around and looked at Marinette, and oh, how that boy could still make her heart leap into her mouth without even trying. 

_No, Marinette,_ she told herself sternly, _you are going to give him up, for his sake._

“Marinette,” Adrien said, and Marinette had to force herself not to preen over the way his voice caressed the syllables of her name. It’d been four years since he’d first joined her class in College, and while she had calmed considerably in her worship of him, he still could send her swooning when she was unprepared for his attention. 

“Good morning, Adrien,” She replied, almost glad for the near-automatic response. They’d grown closer as friends, and speaking had become easier, much to Alya’s relief. 

“Can I speak with you, after class?” He asked her, his voice barely audible. Beside her, Marinette heard Alya gasp, and as if through a tunnel she could hear Nino’s faint ‘bro,’ but all that she could manage was to focus on Adrien. “It’s important,” he added quickly, not letting his eyes stray from hers even for a moment. 

Marinette wrestled with herself, and her fingers clenched around one another on her lap, thankfully out of sight from everyone. _Oh, Chaton…_ _Why do you have to make this so hard?_ Adrien looked at her with something like understanding in his verdant eyes, and it made Marinette pause for a moment. 

“I don’t-”   
  
“Please, Pr… Marinette,” Adrien took a deep breath as if to regain himself and offered her a small, sad smile that very nearly broke her heart right there all over again. “I… I promise it won’t be long if you don’t want it to be.” She swallowed and nodded, and he turned back around, leg bouncing in a curiously nervous gesture that she’d never seen on neither him nor Chat Noir before. 

The rest of the lecture dragged, and Marinette found herself focusing on the tense lines of Adrien’s shoulders rather than anything that the teacher was saying. Finally, the school bell signalled the end of class, but neither Marinette nor Adrien made the move to get up along with their fellow classmates. 

Alya and Nino shot the two of them both furtive, worried looks but decided it was best to simply let them talk whatever it was out. 

“I’ll be around when you need me,” Alya told Marinette before she left, and not for the first time, Marinette thanked her lucky stars that she was friends with her. 

Soon, the classroom was empty but for the two of them. Marinette watched Adrien stand wordlessly and cross the room to shut the door, locking it from the inside so they wouldn’t be disturbed. 

“Adrien, what..?”  
  
The boy held up a hand and moved to the other door, closing and locking it in turn, before returning to her. Instead of sitting back in his assigned seat, he sat beside her, looking at the whorling patterns on the desk. 

“What really happened the other day?” He asked, directing his question to the desk. Marinette felt her heart leap into her throat and her stomach turn to ice.

“What d-do you mean?” She asked, not needing to pretend at the waver in her voice. Within her purse, Tikki buzzed urgently, trying to get out, but _why_ -

“I know it’s you, Princess,” Adrien said, with a certainty that was all too familiar as he looked at her with a pained expression. “I know you’re Ladybug.”


	5. Adrien

She didn’t even look shocked. She looked tired and sad, and…  _ Heartbroken _ , his mind supplied. He wanted so badly to wrap his arms around her as he’d done as Chat Noir, but from the stiff way she sat beside him, he wasn’t sure that his touch would be welcome. 

“Adrien, I-”

“Please, Marinette… I know something happened,” Boldly, he took her hand in his, bringing it up to rest on the desktop. “I just want to help. You shouldn’t have to face this alone. I’m your  _ partner _ , and I… I’m your friend. I care about you. I don’t want you to hurt like this.” He could see the tears well back in her eyes at his words and he brought one of his hands up to brush them away as they started to spill over. 

“I… Tikki came to see Plagg last night.” Marinette startled, though she didn’t jump away from his touch. That was a good sign, right? “She must have been worried about him… They thought I was asleep, but…” Well… He’d been modelling for so long, it wasn’t hard to regulate his breathing, even if he had wanted to scream at the time. “She said that you…” Adrien pursed his lips, not knowing how much to say of what he overheard. 

Suddenly, a small red being burst from Marinette’s purse and shot toward Adrien’s face, pushing him back several centimetres.

“ _ You were awake?! _ ” 

“Hello, Tikki,” Adrien greeted softly. The kwami looked horrified that she had an outburst and just looked between himself and Marinette, who was still, worryingly, not reacting as he’d expected her to. 

“Marinette, please tell me,” Adrien tried again, gently redirecting her attention to him. “Tell me about Chat Blanc.”


	6. Marinette

_ No. _

Everything was happening too fast. 

_ No. _

Adrien knew she was Ladybug.

_ No. _

Adrien knew about Chat Blanc.

_ “NO!” _

Marinette stood up abruptly, pushing herself away from the desk, away from Adrien. Her chair fell over behind her and she tried to ignore how Tikki had just exposed herself, or how Adrien had jumped up too, immediately ready to  _ fight _ whatever had caused her to startle so badly.

“You  _ can’t _ know! You can’t know it’s me! I can’t… I  _ won’t _ go through that again!” Marinette shrieked, backing away from Adrien as if he’d already been akumatized, backing away as if  _ she’d _ already been akumatized. “I won’t do that to  _ you _ again!”

“Marinette!” Adrien’s voice rang out, concern and pain and alarm all melded into one. She shook her head and this time, when the sobs started anew, she couldn’t help the torrent of words that came flooding out with them. 

“I-It was m-my fault!” She sobbed, backing toward the professor’s desk and sinking down to the floor when the back of her legs struck it. Adrien approached her slowly, as if she were a fragile, broken thing, and crouched down in front of her. “I was  _ selfish _ and I.. and I…” She sobbed harder, and Adrien drew her against him, and oh, it would have been a dream if she hadn’t been so lost in her despair. 

“I’m right here, Princess. You haven’t lost any part of me,” he murmured into her hair, which only served to make her cry harder and cling to his overshirt. All pretence of her crush on him vanished with the nickname. This was her partner, her  _ Chaton _ , and he’d found her even though it could destroy them both. 

So… She explained. It wasn’t graceful, or easy. There were plenty of times where her words dissolved into incomprehensible sounds of pain, and Adrien just held her against him until she could find her voice again. She didn’t know how he could be so patient with her, but then again… When hadn’t he been? Adrien was the most patient person in the world, next to Chat Noir… And, as it turned out, they were one and the same. 

She leaned into his solid warmth, wondering in a moment of silence just how many times she’d wanted this very thing from him. This closeness, this understanding. How many times she’d dreamt of him holding her just like this, albeit more romantically than her being a crying mess on the floor. 

“I’m so sorry, Adrien,” She managed finally, curling and uncurling her fingers in his now rumpled and tear-stained overshirt. “I’m so sorry you found out… We… We can never be…” 

Adrien sighed, and Marinette shivered as she realized his forehead was on her shoulder. “Just let me think about it for a moment, alright?” He said finally, drawing soothing patterns on her back all the while. “Do you feel better… Now that you’ve talked about it?” 

Kwami bless this boy, he was still worried about her after all this. “I don’t know,” She answered truthfully. “I.. I don’t think I’ve had a chance to process it properly.” She leaned into him again, closing her eyes. “Will you… Um…” She blushed, realizing what she was going to ask, but pushed through it anyway. “Will you visit me tonight,  _ Chaton _ ? To… Talk about this more?” 

She heard Adrien’s breath hitch at her question and then heard him let it out slowly through his nose.  _ This must be so difficult for him, _ she thought wearily, knowing his feelings for Ladybug at the very least. 

“You know, any other time, I’d have taken that invitation as something else, my Lady,” Adrien teased gently, giving her a gentle squeeze. “But yes, I’ll be there. Do you.. I mean.. Do you want me to come as  _ me _ , or…?” Marinette smiled slightly at the absurdity of the question. 

“Well, cat’s out of the bag now, isn’t it?” She mused and smiled when he chuckled at the pun. “Whichever is easier for you. I.. I know your schedule is strict.” She blushed, not willing to elaborate on just how  _ well _ she knew his schedule, even after all this time. Some habits died harder than others. 

Adrien nodded and stood, and Marinette nearly whined for the loss of his warmth.  _ He’s not yours, Marinette,  _ she chided, even as she took his proffered hand to help her up. 

“May I walk you to your next class, my Lady?” He asked softly, not letting her hand go. Marinette sighed, wishing she could say yes. Instead, she squeezed his hand and slipped hers from it, wrapping her arms around herself to keep from doing anything stupid. 

“Not… Not right now.” She tilted her head toward the door. “We... We might know but nobody else does. It’d be stranger than it already has been if.. If we were suddenly…”

“Closer?” Adrien supplied helpfully, and the tips of Marinette’s ears pinkened in response, but she nodded. “Fair enough.” He sighed, ruffling his hair in a gesture that was undeniably both Adrien  _ and _ Chat, and then offered her a small, hesitant smile. “Thank you for telling me, Marinette… I know that... You could have simply said no. I hope… I hope I wasn’t too forward.”

“No more than usual,” Marinette replied. “We… Should go before Alya and Nino come barging back in here.” Goodness knew that they’d both have enough questions to last the rest of the afternoon. “I’ll.. See you later?”

“Yeah,” Adrien caught Marinette’s hand before she could drift too far away, brushing his lips against her fingers, “See you later.”


	7. Chat Noir

Chat made sure that he waited until Marinette’s parents had turned off their bedroom light before vaulting his way toward her patio. He touched down as softly as possible and stowed his baton, looking around in a cursory and entirely instinctive way; he had to be sure there were no Akuma threatening his city before he went to comfort his Lady; responsibilities were still responsibilities, and she would have his hide if he were careless on her behalf. 

Ever so lightly, he rapped on her skylight with a curled finger. It felt strange, visiting her like this in the dead of night, even though he did it before. Previously, she’d been up on the patio and it had only been happenstance. Now, calling on her like this seemed more like a tryst, especially since he knew her identity, and she, his. Blushing furiously at his own thoughts, Chat shook his head to dispel them just as Marinette climbed up and joined him. 

“You alright, Chaton?” She asked in bemusement, which only caused him to blush deeper. Thankfully it was dark enough that he hoped most of the colour was hidden by his hair and mask. 

“Just fine, milady,” He replied. Wordlessly, and before truly asking her, Chat scooped Marinette up and settled with her on one of the lounge chairs, smiling to himself at the soft squeal of protest that escaped her. “Marinette, I was thinking about what you told me today,” He said, looking at her seriously, watching every trace of embarrassment leave her face in an instant as she gazed back. “What you talked about… Well… That future has already changed, hasn’t it? Because of what you did, and how I found out.” He took her pale hand in his, mindful of his claws. “So… So now that I know about what  _ could _ happen… Maybe we don’t need to worry as much about it happening.” 

“What are you trying to say, Chat?” 

“Maybe… We could give it a chance?” He knew her answer in the way her body tensed and the way she looked away, but he refused to let go. “Marinette, just-”

“Chat, you don’t understand...” She bit her lower lip, clearly fighting with herself. 

“I don’t want to lose you, Marinette.”    
  
“I don’t want to lose you either!” Marinette cried, wrenching her hand from his and bringing both of her fists down against his chest in futility. “Chat you don’t understand, you were  _ insane _ . Chat Blanc was  _ insane _ and  _ heartbroken _ and  _ alone _ you were so  _ alone _ and I can’t… I  _ can’t _ do that to you!”

“You won’t,” Chat caught her fists before they struck him again and brought them to his lips instead. “I trust you. I’ve always trusted you, Marinette. With  _ and _ without the mask.” He watched as tears spilt over again and gently brushed them away. She trembled in his arms and he frankly couldn’t blame her; from what she told him, she’d fought against a version of him that he never wanted to discover. He had faith, though, that she would keep him from it. That  _ he _ would keep himself from it, knowing now that it was a possibility at all. 

Chat didn’t think that time was finite, and he didn’t think that there was a be-all-end-all. One drop in the pond and all that. So with him finding out about Marinette and Ladybug differently, and  _ her _ finding out about  _ him _ differently, all of this  _ must _ have changed things for them, right? It all  _ must _ have affected  _ something _ in time and space enough for them to have a second chance, right? Chat hoped beyond hope that his philosophical ramblings were true and that it meant he and Marinette still had some semblance of a chance. He wasn’t about to let go of her now that he finally,  _ finally _ knew who she was and knew just how  _ close _ she’d been this whole time. 

One thing was certain, though.  The next time he saw Bunnyx, they were going to have  _ words _ . 


	8. Alya

Okay, something was  _ up _ with Marinette and Adrien. Alya hoped she wasn’t getting ahead of herself with the thrill of hope that thrummed through her, but if her reporter instincts had taught her anything, it was to follow a lead when she saw one. 

Seeing Marinette fall to pieces yesterday morning had been bad enough, but seeing  _ Adrien Agreste _ of all people rise to the occasion instead of remain in his oblivious bubble was another thing entirely. It hadn’t escaped Alya that Adrien looked just as rough as Marinette had, and it made the brunette wonder if something had happened between them.

While Marinette’s crush on Adrien had tempered over the years and had even mellowed out enough for her to have given Luka a chance, it was still pretty clear to Alya that her best friend carried a torch for the boy. It’d been clear to Luka too and had ultimately been the reason their relationship had crumbled, although Luka had been understanding and graceful about it as he ever was. 

So when she watched Adrien and Marinette leave the classroom that they’d all but locked themselves inside just before the bell rang for their subsequent classes, Alya’s eyes narrowed in suspicion and she decided then and there that she’d get to the bottom of whatever this new development was. 

Beside her, Nino watched her face with the practised patience of one who knew her moods, and caught her hand before she could jump up to rush over to Marinette’s side. 

“Give her some air, babe,” He recommended sagely, tugging her back down to land in his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist. “You’re seeing her tonight anyway; you can ask her then.” 

Alya huffed, but leaned back into his chest for just a moment longer and tipped her head to kiss his jaw. She didn’t know if it was his prolonged contact with Wayzz or if it was just a result of Nino maturing, but the older they got, the more centred her boyfriend became. Admittedly, it helped level her, too, so she shouldn’t complain overmuch. 

“Did he tell you anything?” She asked, knowing they were going to be late, but loathe to leave the warmth and security his arms brought her. Behind her, she felt Nino shake his head. 

“Nah, I’m just as in the dark as you.” His arms dropped and his hand caught hers. “Come on, I’ll walk you to class.”

* * *

Alya lingered just inside the front doors of their Lycee, waiting for Marinette to join her. She’d received a text from her friend saying she wouldn’t be long, but that had been a few minutes ago, and Alya was getting a little impatient. Tapping her fingers on the strap of her bag, Alya huffed softly and struck out, walking with purposeful strides toward Marinette’s last class of the day. 

She didn’t know if it was her heightened instincts as a reporter, or as her time fighting Akuma alongside Ladybug and Chat Noir as Rena Rouge that had her ducking behind a door, but before she knew it, she was crouched out of sight, peering around her cover carefully. 

Marinette was standing a few metres away, her back pressed up against the wall, and in front of her, holding her there was Adrien Agreste. They both seemed to be arguing fiercely in hushed voices, and Adrien stood in a much more aggressive posture than Alya had ever seen him in before. It almost looked…  _ Possessive? _ She wondered to herself, noting Marinette had absolutely no blush on her cheeks, and her eyes flashed with a level of brevity that Alya had never seen directed at the model before. If Alya hadn’t known it to be them, she’d have thought… Well… She’d have thought it was Ladybug and Chat Noir arguing with one another, not her two friends from College. 

“...Princess, time doesn’t  _ work _ like that, it’s not a sure thing,” Adrien’s voice floated down the hall toward Alya’s ears, pricking them with interest. He sounded frustrated, irritated as if he’d said these words before.  _ Princess? _ Alya wondered, daring another peek at the two. Still no sign of a blush on Marinette’s cheeks, though she could see a telltale pinkening on the tips of the girl’s ears.  _ Ha, so there is still something _ . “You don’t think-”

“Bunnyx said-”

“Bunnyx isn’t telling you everything, Marinette!” Adrien fumed, straightening and pacing away from her a couple of steps before coming back to her. “And I don’t care!”

“I do! You didn’t see-”   
  
“It won’t happen,” Adrien exclaimed, slashing the air with his arm and advancing on her with a fiercely predatory look that had Marinette squeaking and recoiling against the wall. “I won’t let it happen. I won’t do that to you, Marinette.” 

“Adrien… I…”

“Please,” Alya’s eyes widened as she watched Adrien’s finger crook beneath Marinette’s chin, tipping her head up so that her eyes could meet his. “Please, my Lady.”

_ My Lady…. _

“Oh my God!”


	9. Marinette

“Oh my God!” It had taken three words coming from a familiar voice to bring her back to her senses. Three simple words, and she’d snapped from the reverie that Adrien had lulled her into with his touch on her skin that had sent fire coursing through her and the soft whisper that everything would be alright because they were together. 

Adrien seemed to have snapped to his senses too, because he leapt back as if burned, though he still stood in front of Marinette, she noticed with a detached sort of amusement. Her Chat, always ready to protect his Lady from whatever threat there may be. 

“Alya!” She exclaimed when the other girl rose to her feet, eyes wide with her realization and her hand covering her mouth. Of course, it was Alya; how long had they taken? She’d promised to meet her at the front doors, but of course, Adrien had caught up with her before she could leave… 

“You’re… And He’s…” Alya at least had the sense to not say it aloud, her mouth clamping shut with resolute stubbornness that spoke of loyalty beyond the simple bonds of friendship. Marinette’s smile was sympathetic and apologetic all at once, and it was her hand on Adrien’s shoulder that smoothed the tension from his stance. 

“It’s okay, _Chaton_ ,” She murmured, her hand lingering on his shoulder until he covered it with his own. There was that _feeling_ again and oh, she’d need to speak with Tikki about just how _right_ it felt to be touched by Adrien in this way. “She’s got a secret too, don’t you, Rena Rouge?”

Alya stared back at them, mouth moving like a fish out of water, before squealing and surging toward them to wrap both of them in a fierce hug that nearly knocked the wind from Marinette and clearly did Adrien, judging from the sharp sound he made on impact and the way his arm came up to catch her. 

“ _I_ _knew it!_ ” Alya crowed victoriously, and although Marinette didn’t have enough energy to inquire exactly what Alya was talking about, she had a hunch. “How long have you two known?!”

“The last few days,” Adrien supplied, disentangling himself from the hug and, bless him, blushing awkwardly. He looked to her for permission, and she shrugged. 

“We were going to get some coffee and do some homework at my place,” Marinette told him in a soft tone, worrying her lip between her teeth nervously. She blushed when she realized that Adrien’s gaze had zeroed in on the gesture and his lips had parted in a soft gasp. “U-uhm… You’re welcome to join us... Ama and Papa will be in the shop until late tonight, so… So we’ll have some time to explain things.” She turned to Alya for this, trying to get the look Adrien had just given her out of her head, along with the realization of just how close he’d been to  _ kissing her _ before Alya’s interference just moments before. 

Her friend merely smirked at her and nodded, then pulled her phone out. 

“Okay but I’m getting Nino then,”   
  
“What, why?” Adrien protested, starting to reach for her to stop her. Alya just looked at him.

“You really are oblivious sometimes, Agreste.” She deadpanned, and Marinette couldn’t help the slightly hysterical giggle that bubbled up her throat. It distracted Adrien and made him smile at her, making her giggle all the more, and in a gesture driven by kwami-knew-what; fatigue, relief, or just plain hysteria, she leaned against Adrien while she dissolved into her laughing fit. 

It wouldn’t be until after that she thought about how easily his arm came around her waist. It wouldn’t be until after that she would realize that he’d pressed a kiss to her hair, and held her against him as if he’d been drowning. It wouldn’t be until after that she realized just how comfortable that feeling was, or how badly she needed to hold onto him, too.

It wouldn’t be until much later that she would realize there were another pair of eyes on the group that afternoon, much too far away to hear anything, but not far enough to keep daggers of envy from slicing through the air toward her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, for the record before anybody comes at me: No, it's not Chloe. I adamantly believe that she deserves a better redemption arc than what canon gave her. I believe that it was HUGE of her be one of the only people in the show to REJECT HAWKMOTH'S AKUMA because of her faith in Ladybug. In my opinion, she's had one of the biggest character growths of the whole damned series, and they just threw it away. It's not fair to her. 
> 
> Secondly, I didn't know I'd be writing this hard when I started yesterday (yeah, I only started this fic YESTERDAY.) It's been an age since something came to me so organically so we'll see where all this goes. Thank you so far for all of the kudos and for the reviews, they mean a lot! <3


	10. Lila

How  _ dare _ she. 

How  _ dare _ she touch Adrien like that. How dare  _ he _ touch  _ her _ like that! This wasn’t supposed to happen! They were supposed to have gotten more distant, not suddenly closer together!  _ It made no sense! _

Lila’s hand curled into a fist and her nails bit into her palm as her rage coiled viper-like in her stomach, cold and writhing. She’d only seen the three by happenstance, and the scene had made her stop dead before she’d gotten close enough to hear them. But that hadn’t stopped her from seeing Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste all over each other, and then when Alya Césaire suddenly appeared from where she’d been spying from behind a door, Lila knew she had no chance of breaking up the little tryst. 

_ Gabriel Agreste will need to know about this, _ Lila thought, though she hadn’t a clue what the fashion mogul would be able to do about it. In the years since their time at College, his hold over Adrien had been slipping, the younger Agreste more and more willing to disappoint his father if it meant exercising his own personal freedoms. Still, Lila faithfully reported to the man any and all things concerning his son, and Gabriel Agreste, true to his word, endeavoured to make Lila’s life somewhat easier. Occasionally, that meant photoshoots with Adrien, occasionally that meant a reference call to a studio she was interested in. Their partnership had been mutually beneficial, for the most part. 

It only helped her more that he seemed all-too inclined to keep Adrien away from Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Not that either of their plans seemed to be working if what she’d just witnessed was any indicator. 

Casually, Lila pulled her phone out and snapped a picture, which would be damning enough in its own right. Scrolling to her contact for Gabriel Agreste - or rather, his assistant - she sent the image, along with the tagline, ‘you should have seen them two minutes ago. What will you have me do?’

It took less than a minute before her phone vibrated in her hand and she brought it to her ear.

_ “Separate them by whatever means necessary.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course, it's Lila. I don't think there's anybody in this series that I dislike more, because hell, even Hawkmoth/Gabriel has redeeming factors on occasion (not excusable, mind). Lila's just a manipulative bitch, and imo, she's the true villain of the show.


	11. Adrien

This… Is not what he’d intended. Then again, he wasn’t entirely sure _what_ he’d intended when he’d caught up with Marinette in the hallway at the end of the day, but sitting in her bedroom with her, Alya and Nino, while their Kwami all chatted amiably nearby, was _definitely_ not it. 

He’d wanted to speak with Marinette _alone_ . Wanted to reassure her that whatever had happened in that alternative timeline where he’d become Chat Blanc wouldn’t… _Couldn’t_ happen here, because, well… So much had _already_ changed. 

Instead, he watched her quietly fidget on her chaise beside Alya, while the latter filled Nino in on what had happened. Apparently, not only was Alya Rena Rouge - and honestly, Adrien should have seen the similarities, but _Nino_ was _Carapace_ , and now the model was just slapping himself mentally. 

How had he missed all the signs? 

Granted, he’d been _incredibly_ distracted, especially lately. Marinette had barely looked at him since they left Lycee together as a group, and his skin still burned with how close they’d come to--

“Earth to Adrien,” Alya purred, a sly grin on her face that made him all-too-aware that she’d probably been trying to get his attention for some time now.

“Ah, sorry Alya,” He brought a hand up to ruffle the hair at the base of his neck as the reporter cackled softly, and Nino simply rolled his eyes. “What were you saying?”

“I was _asking_ what you two had been talking about before?” Alya repeated, her grin slipping from her face into a more serious expression. “You both seem really out of it today.”

“Yeah, dude, can we help?” Nino sat up straighter, and even the Kwami stopped talking, Wayzz and Trix floating over to sit on their respective Chosen’s shoulders. Adrien glanced over to Marinette, unsure of how to proceed. She looked back at him, the same uncertainty he felt reflected in her cerulean eyes. Silence stretched between them as they stared at one another, wordless conversation exchanging between the two as if they'd been communicating like this all their lives.

“Oh come _on,_ ” Plagg drawled suddenly from just behind Adrien’s ear, making him jump a lot more sharply than any respectable Chat Noir should have. “You two going to make eyes at one another all day, or are you going to actually _talk?_ ” 

“Plagg!” Adrien hissed, but the damage had been done. He saw Marinette go beet red out of the corner of his eye and sighed, knowing that when she was like _this,_ words were almost impossible to coax out of her. The cat Kwami simply rolled his eyes and floated back over to where Tikki was, shrugging at her as if to say ‘well, I tried.’

Adrien looked over at Marinette, and saw her peeking up at him. Beside her, Alya just rolled her eyes and began scrolling through her phone, far too used to this silence to be impatient. Nino stood up, murmuring something about making Wayzz some tea, and clambered his way downstairs toward the kitchen. 

“It’s up to you, Marinette,” Adrien said after a moment, keeping his gaze on her. He didn’t know if it helped, per-se, but at least to him, she was the only one that mattered right now. “Enough has changed already I… I don’t think telling them would be a problem.” 

“But…” She whimpered, clearly still terrified of consequences that seemed to haunt her. Oh, yes, he and Bunnyx were going to have a _long_ conversation next time they spoke. It was one thing to drag him down in front of his Lady, but another thing entirely to place such ghosts behind her eyes. 

Adrien moved almost on instinct and gently tugged Marinette down into his lap. She squeaked and protested softly, but her protests died on her lips when her back rested against his chest, and his chin rested on her head. This was a position he’d held her in as Chat countless times before, and he knew she remembered. This position was comfort for them both, and after a long, nerve-wracking minute, she curled into him, shuddering out a breath that sent gooseflesh coursing across his skin in waves. 

Nearby, Adrien heard the sound of a camera shutter and opened one eye to see Alya grinning to herself as she peered at her phone. When she saw Adrien looking, she turned the phone around so he could see the picture. It was cute, the photo she took. Adrien’s cheeks stained red and he hid his face in Marinette’s hair, which only caused Alya to cackle and Marinette to squeak again in embarrassment. 

She smelled good. 

_Focus, Adrien_. 

Eventually, he pulled away, albeit a little too reluctantly. Marinette looked up at him with wide eyes, and he smiled. 

“Feel a bit better?” He asked softly, brushing her bangs from her face. Wordlessly, Marinette nodded, and did he imagine it, or did she lean into his hand…?

_Focus, Adrien._

“Should I give you two a moment, or…?” Alya’s voice cut in, and the moment between the two popped like a soap bubble. Marinette jerked away a little too sharply, and Adrien had to catch her lest she hit her head on the side of the chaise. 

Which, of course, resulted in him pitching forward too, just in time for Nino to climb back up the ladder to Marinette’s room. 

“...Babe I left you alone with them for five minutes,” he lamented, and it was only then that Adrien realized Alya was cackling again. 

Oh, _camembert_ , they’d never hear the end of it now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided for a bit of fluff to lighten the mood this time around. Thank you for all of the reviews and kudos, I'm so happy y'all like it <3


	12. Tikki

She had hoped that when Marinette and Adrien had revealed themselves to one another, they’d get past this awkward blushing-and-stuttering stage.

Evidently, she was wrong. 

Which meant that she owed Plagg a wheel of camembert. 

Sighing, Tikki scrubbed her hands over her face. At least this meant there were no more secrets between the core of the team. She always thought it an unnecessary evil to keep the Miraculous holders in the dark about their identities, especially ones which worked so closely together as Ladybug and Chat Noir. Over the millennia, that rule had proven time and time again to be about as useful as adding extra sugar to salvage a damned recipe; that was to say, completely useless. They always found out in the end, with varying results. 

At least this time around, the current Guardian had begrudgingly agreed that the Fox and Turtle Miraculous would be better suited to lie in the hands of their Chosen, rather than all gathered into one place for Hawkmoth to find like some sort of ill-conceived gift. She understood keeping the Miraculous that hadn’t been assigned anyone away, but Trix and Wayzz had Chosen their holders just as Pollen had; they deserved to be by their Chosen’s sides just as much as she or Plagg did. 

As far as she was concerned, the old monk was simply too used to handling things on his own. 

Which had surprised Tikki, even more, when Master Fu begrudgingly agreed to release the Fox, Turtle and Bee Miraculous into the care of their Chosen, under the caveat that they remain vigilant in their battles against Hawkmoth and to  _ never _ reveal their identities to others. 

_ Well, _ Tikki mused, looking down at the group that sat around Marinette’s chaise all clutching the tea that Nino had so generously brought back up,  _ as Plagg is so fond of saying, the cat’s out of the bag now _ . 

“Well, Sugarcube,” he said from beside her, tail flicking back and forth languorously as he watched their charges below, “want to make  _ another _ bet?”

“Plagg, you know we shouldn’t be wagering on our Chosen like this, it isn’t right.”   
  
“Hasn’t stopped you before,” Plagg countered, and Tikki rolled her eyes and nudged him away. He cackled and rolled over, looking at her from his now upside-down position. “C’mon Sugarcube, this time it’ll be for  _ two _ wheels of camembert.”

“You mean boxes of macaroons,” Tikki replied haughtily, and Plagg whooped so loudly that they gained the attention of the teenagers sitting below them. Tikki saw Marinette raise an eyebrow at them and Tikki smiled sheepishly. 

“Atta bug!”

“Ugh, what are we wagering on?” Tikki replied, wrinkling her nose at being called a bug. Honestly, she couldn’t help what she looked like any more than he could! 

“Oh that’s easy Sugarcube, we’re wagering on when they  _ finally _ get up the nerve to-”   
  
“Plagg!” Tikki admonished, blushing on Marinette’s behalf, though you could hardly tell against her already red skin. Plagg cackled again, flipping back over, and something told her he knew anyway. 

“What do you say,  _ bugaboo? _ ” Tikki glared at him, not the least of which for the nickname that, up until now, had been used solely between Chat Noir and Ladybug.  _ The lines are blurring. I wonder for how long? _

“... I’d give it a week.”   
  
“A whole  _ week? _ Camembert!” Plagg lamented, turning his gaze back to the teenagers below them. He observed them for a few minutes in silence, vivid green eyes plotting. 

“You  _ can’t _ help them along, Plagg!” Tikki warned, pointing at the feline suspiciously.   
  
“ _ Moi _ ? I would  _ never.” _ Even as he said it, he couldn’t suppress the Cheshire grin that spread across his face. 

“Plagg!”   
  
“A week it is, Sugarcube.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so just in case this came out more confusing, an explanation:
> 
> I feel like the "you must not know one another's' identities!" is an entirely human-created rule. The Kwami had no part in it, and the only reason they enforce it is that it's an order they received once upon a time (much like how Gabriel can order Nooroo around). 
> 
> Hopefully, Tikki's ruminating exposition also explains why Trix and Wayzz are there too.


	13. Marinette

It had taken a few hours, but finally, she’d managed to convince Alya and Nino to go home. She’d even gotten Adrien to leave, telling him that she needed some time to get her thoughts together and shower. 

“Can I…” He’d asked, hesitancy lingering in every syllable that hung between them as he lingered there on her doorstep. It was so strange to have him there, she didn’t know what to do with herself, and yet still, she wasn’t stumbling over herself, as she would have even a few months ago. 

In lieu of flicking the bell that usually hung about his neck, she’d gently tapped his nose, startling the both of them at how casually she’d done it. With both of them pink-faced, she smiled.

“Come back later,” She’d said, and she hadn’t entirely been sure of what she’d meant to imply in saying it. But this way his eyes had widened had certainly not made her blush go away, and her embarrassment had finally gotten the better of her, making her shut the door sharply in his face and then slide down the other side of it, groaning at the agony of it all. 

After a few nerve-wracking minutes of listening to him walk away, she hauled herself up to go shower, hoping that the icy chill of the water would do something to cool her touch-seared skin. She could still smell the warmth of him on her clothes, and Alya had sent her the photograph she’d taken of the two of them cuddled together. 

It looked so natural.

_ You can’t do this to yourself, Marinette. _ She chided, though the voice in her head sounded less sure than before, less forceful as if it weren’t sure anymore just  _ why _ she couldn’t. Bunnyx had told her in no uncertain terms that she couldn’t let the future with Chat Blanc happen, but… Hadn’t she already stopped it? Who was to say that her actions hadn’t already subverted that future?  _ Maybe Adrien is right, Maybe… _

The image of him looming over her as he tipped her face up to meet his flooded into her mind and her face burned anew. Marinette stumbled back with a gasp, grabbing onto the shower curtain for purchase and nearly tearing the thing off of its rings as she slid painfully down into the basin of the tub, landing with a wet thud on her rump. 

_ Graceful as ever, Marinette… _

* * *

Marinette had taken an unusually long time in the shower, and she was glad her parents were out of the house still to not have witnessed it. She now sat on her bed in her pyjamas, towel-drying her hair, when she heard the telltale rap of cat claws against her window. Turning, her heart leapt into her throat when she saw too-green eyes staring back at her, a small smile playing on the lips of their masked owner. 

She scrambled to her feet and unlocked the hatch door to the patio above. Moments later, Chat Noir’s lithe, black-clad form slid down through the entrance, closing the door behind him. 

“Hello again, Purrincess,” he crooned, grinning at his own joke as he caught her hand to brush his lips against her knuckles in greeting. She rolled her eyes automatically, but smiled in response, extricating her hand just a little too quickly. Was it just her, or did his ears droop just the slightest bit..? “Today was quite something; how are you holding up?” He asked her, his gaze focusing on her face. 

Marinette sighed, bringing her previously captured hand to her face to scrub some of the stress away. 

“Honestly, Chat? I don’t know,” she replied, looking back at him with a tired smile. “Ever since that day, everything has been… It all feels like it’s been moving so quickly, and I haven’t had time to catch up, you know?” She pulled some of her tousled hair over her shoulder, playing with it idly, just to keep her hands busy. “I still don’t know if us knowing about one another was the best course of action, and now Alya and Nino know too. What if Hawkmoth finds out, and uses it against us?” She looked up at him, and yes, his ears were  _ actually _ drooping. “Chat?”

“Do you… Regret knowing that it’s me, Marinette?” He asked in a soft voice. Marinette stared at him, trying to figure out why he could possibly sound worried. Reaching over, she clasped his hand between both of hers and shook her head. 

“No, of course not,” She said, focusing on him with far more courage than she was currently feeling in the moment. “If anything, if… If I weren’t so worried about  _ everything else _ , I’d be worried that  _ you _ would be let down that  _ Ladybug _ is, well…  _ me. _ ” Now she broke their gaze, and looked down at the bedspread, realizing too late that they hadn’t moved from where they’d sat down on her mattress.  _ Don’t blush, don’t blush, maybe he didn’t notice! _

“Marinette, why would I ever be disappointed that it’s you?” Oh, the  _ sincerity  _ in his voice nearly made her want to start crying right then and there. She looked at him and there were obviously tears in her eyes, or were about to be, because he was suddenly very concerned. “Marinette?”

“Silly kitty,” She choked on the words, and then the tears came. When  _ wouldn’t _ she be crying in front of him? “I’m s-sorry,” She managed, scrubbing at her eyes with the heel of her palm, “I’m h-happy, I swear!” 

Chat’s eyes softened and he tugged her toward him again, for what felt like the hundredth time that day. She fell against him gratefully, curling up against his chest to just  _ be _ for a while. 

“Stay with me, Chaton?” She asked softly, once her tears had subsided and her limbs had grown heavy in the warmth of his embrace. “For a little while longer?”

“For as long as you need, Princess.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... So who wants to join Tikki and Plagg's bet?


	14. Nathalie

The extra spring in Adrien’s step that morning had not escaped Nathalie’s notice, even if the boy had tried his best to mask it. There was so little in his life that brought him joy that even the slightest trace of it was almost impossible to keep under wraps. She exchanged a mildly curious glance with Gorilla, who simply grunted and shrugged a single meaty shoulder to convey that he knew as little about its source as she. 

Hm, this would likely require some digging before she could bring it up to Gabriel. 

Nathalie strode to the window that overlooked the front terrace of the Agreste Mansion to watch Adrien leave for school. The days before, he’d seemed forlorn, and tired, barely willing to pull himself from bed. She’d worried he’d fallen ill, but cursory inquiries led nowhere. 

Now, it seemed he’d miraculously recovered whatever had been ailing him, which led Nathalie to think that his troubles were less physical than she’d initially been led to believe. 

_ Adrien, could you be…? _

She would  _ certainly _ need to find out more before bringing it up to Gabriel. Was it that Marinette Dupain-Cheng girl that Lila Rossi had notified them about recently? She seemed determined enough to seek Adrien’s affections, but Adrien had never shown any interest in the girl beyond friendship… 

The sharp trilling of her phone drew Nathalie from her musings and she brought the device to her ear and a practised gesture that hardly required her full attention. 

“Sir?”

“Nathalie, clear my afternoon,” Gabriel’s smooth voice filtered through the line, marred only by the slight crackle of the speaker, “I have some business to attend to.”

“Of course Sir,” she replied, already bringing her tablet up to follow through on her orders. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”   
  
“Yes, join me when you’re done. I will need the help of Mayura.”   
  
“Of course.”


	15. Hawkmoth

“Nooroo, dark wings rise!” 

The familiar flash of purple light, and the all-too-familiar wave of power coursed through him as his transformation took hold. Opening his eyes, Hawkmoth smirked to himself, reaching out with his heightened senses toward the thrumming rage that he’d sensed from his office downstairs. 

The skylight opened before him, sunlight spilling into the room to reflect and refract off of thousands of gossamer wings. It never ceased to delight him, how beautiful his Akuma were, though he much preferred them when they were bending others to his will… 

“Hawkmoth,” Mayura’s familiar voice crooned from behind him, and he turned, holding a hand out to her. She took it delicately, her final few steps careful and graceful as ever. 

“Mayura,” Hawkmoth intoned, turning back toward the skylight, “do you feel it?” The grin that spread across his face was manic, “do you feel the untapped rage and disappointment?”

“I do Hawkmoth, and I believe I’ve just the thing to help him along,” Mayura withdrew a feather from her fan, smirking as she waited, ever patient, drawing the downy thing absently against her purple-tinted cheek. 

Hawkmoth held his hand out and an Akuma fluttered over to perch upon it obediently. It took so little effort now, filling the small creature with his will.

“Fly away my little Akuma, and evilize him!”

“Fly away beautiful Amok, and enhance and hone that frustration!”

* * *

“This is bullshit!” throwing his headset across the room, A teenage boy got up and stalked away from his PC, running his hands through dishevelled hair in frustration. “How the hell am I going to get anywhere if they keep killing me off before I even get out of the first zone!?” 

Fuming, he stormed over to his mini-fridge and wrenched the door open, grabbing another bottle of water before stalking back to his desk, rolling his shoulders as if preparing for a fight. 

“Alright, Jean-Phillipe, you can do this,” He muttered to himself, unaware of the purple butterfly and matching feather that had slipped in through the open window, hovering nearby and waiting for him to fail again.

Neither had to wait long.

“... Glitch, I am Hawkmoth,”   
  
“And I am Mayura,”

“You are a fierce warrior who has been denied the chance to show your mettle on the battlefield. I am giving you the chance to make all of Paris your domain, with no more would-be contenders having the chance to strike you! All I ask in return is that you bring me Ladybug and Chat Noir’s Miraculous!”   
  
“To aid you, I give you a companion that will take you into the skies,” Mayura cooed into the Akuma’s ear, her magic already coursing through him. “Do you agree?”

“I accept your quest,” Glitch smirked, the mask-like glow around his eyes fading before his body became engulfed in a transformative purple haze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Extra:
> 
> Hawkmoth: Did you understand any of what just happened?  
> Mayura: I think it's... A game?  
> Hawkmoth: ....Seriously?
> 
> \---  
> Yes, they just akumatized a kid who just kept getting noob-killed in an MMO. It's frustrating, okay?


	16. Ladybug

Her first clue that there was a new Akuma had been the large, reverberating explosion that had shaken the apartment so hard, she’d had to catch things before they fell from her desk. Her second had been the ear-splitting  _ roar _ that tore through the air and had her racing up to the patio, fingers gripping the railing so tightly that her knuckles had turned white. 

_ What on Earth-? _

Marinette gaped as she watched a truly bizarre sight pass by her… Or rather,  _ fly _ past her. It looked to be a knight sitting atop a large dragon-like creature, one hand holding the beast’s spiked neck, the other hefting a massive buster sword over his shoulder as if it weighed nothing. 

The moth emblazoned on the knight’s breastplate left little to her imagination, however, and Marinette ducked out of sight.

“Marinette, what  _ is _ that thing?” Tikki gaped, popping up to stare over Marinette’s shoulder, “Are we still in the right time?”

“Yes, Tikki, I think so… Unless you’re telling me  _ dragons _ existed before,” Marinette replied, chancing a look back around her cover to keep an eye on the Akuma. It seemed that it was intent on circling the Eiffel Tower, as so many often were, which gave Marinette some time. 

“Well, no,” Tikki frowned, the small black dot on her forehead scrunching. “Do you want to wait for Chat?”

“I’m pretty sure he’d have to be deaf to not have heard that roar,” Marinette shook her head, already trying to figure out just  _ what _ could be hiding the little butterfly. “A dragon-rider, though? Really?”

“It’s not a dragon, Marinette!” Tikki replied, shaking her little head fiercely. “It’s an Amok!"

“Well, yeah, I knew  _ that _ , and if we’re really being specific…”   
  
“ _ Focus _ , Marinette!”

Right… Tikki, spots on!”

* * *

She’d been right to rely on him. By the time she swung into a safe position near the Eiffel Tower, it had taken barely two breaths before Chat Noir vaulted down beside her, landing in a rather extravagant flourish that had her grinning and rolling her eyes despite the severity of the situation. 

“Good afternoon, M’Lady, your dashing dark knight has arrived,” he purred, clearly unable to help himself. Ladybug swatted at him without looking whether she made contact and peered out at their target instead, squinting slightly. They were only  _ just _ too far away, and she couldn’t make out enough detail, even with the acuity her suit afforded her. 

“This looks like it might be difficult, Chaton, have you seen what we’re up against yet?” She asked, gesturing toward the Tower and the Akuma. Chat Noir shook his head. 

“No, I came to find you first,” The tone of his voice had her looking back at him, and the look he was giving her confirmed what she’d heard.  _ I came to make sure you were safe first, _ is what he’d actually meant, and Ladybug felt a wave of heat rising to her cheeks that had absolutely nothing to do with the task at hand. 

_ Focus, Marinette! _

Chat Noir peered around their cover, his vivid green eyes widening at the sight they beheld before he quickly ducked back down to stare at her. From beyond them, another shriek pierced the air. Before they knew what was happening, the Akuma and Amok duo slammed down in front of them, towering over them with all the grand glory of a bossfight entrance.

“Ladybug and Chat Noir! I look forward to defeating you in battle and looting your Miraculous from your flaming corpses!”

"Is that... A dragon?" Chat asked incredulously, squinting up at the creature before Ladybug grabbed his hand and dragged them both out of its line of fire.  _ Purple  _ fire, to be exact.  _ Could Hawkmoth be anymore on-brand? _

"Honestly, Chat. It's a wyvern. it's not got enough legs to be a dragon," Ladybug replied distractedly then noticed the look Chat was giving her, "... What?"

"My  _ Lady _ ," he purred, and Ladybug responded by all but throwing him out of the way of another blast. 

“ _ Later, _ Chat!”

“Purromise?” Chat teased, using his baton to launch himself away from her, diverting their attacker’s focus. If he could keep the Akuma off of her long enough for her to use her Lucky Charm, then hopefully, they could be done with this strange fever-dream sooner rather than later. 

Ladybug watched Chat for a few seconds longer as he darted, vaulted, and dodged blast after blast.  _ Is he always that flexible or is just the suit? … FOCUS! _ She looked back at the wyvern, that was clearly the amok, but where was the Akuma?

Another bright flash, and Chat’s mocking laughter rang out, “what’s wrong, aim a little off today?” The akumatized person roared with fury at the frankly uncreative comment and the wyvern bounded towards Chat. Each step heavy and crunching concrete underneath it - damn it, not the Arc de Triomphe again - and then Ladybug saw it. The person was using what looked like a keyboard to move the wyvern and initiate each attack.

“Chat Noir,” She called, not waiting to ensure she had his attention; she could see an ear had flicked in her direction, even as he hopped around out of the amok’s blast “The Amok’s in the keyboard!”

“Keyboard?” Chat Noir glanced at the Amok again, his face splitting into an all-too-familiar Cheshire grin. “Oh, _I_ _get it_. Hawkmoth got to you over a _game_ , did he?” The enraged howl that came from not the Amok, but the Akuma, was all they needed to know. Apparently, though, that had been the wrong thing to say. With a grunt, the Akuma vaulted from the back of his Amok steed, landing in a stylized pose before Ladybug with his blade outstretched. 

“Your Miraculous will be mine!” He seethed, surging forward with a speed that had her backpedalling and whirling her yo-yo to deflect his attacks, “and  _ then _ I’ll  _ skin _ that mangy cat!”

“Ladybug!” Ladybug saw Chat Noir move toward her, but she deflected another blow and jumped away from the blade, giving herself enough time to gesture sharply at her partner. 

“Deal with the Amok! We can’t have them both running around!” She ordered, stopping Chat dead in his tracks. It was clear he struggled, battling with his urge to protect her over his need to protect Paris. “ _ Go _ Chat I’ll be fine!” She leapt back again, sending her yo-yo up to pull herself up and away just fast enough to avoid another deadly slice from the blade…

But she hadn’t expected the Akuma to be there when she landed. 

“Merde!” As unlikely as it was for Ladybug to  _ ever _ swear, she had certainly been caught off guard and had to dive out of the way before she could find out whether that sword was more than a cosplay prop. 

“Ha!” The Akuma scoffed, swinging the blade back around in a wide arc and bringing it back to his shoulder, “You cannot defeat me, Ladybug!” 

“We’ll see about that!” 

She bounded out of the way again and used the momentum to launch herself up higher and away. The move bought her the few seconds she needed to conjure her Lucky Charm, which as usual, turned out to be a mundane and seemingly useless object. A can of soda landed in her palm and she glared at it. One of these days it was going to be so ridiculous that Ladybug was going to quit right there on the spot.

A purple blast was coming her way again and leapt down to avoid it, her mind reeling with possibilities. What did a can of soda have to do with a keyboard? She felt the weight of it in her hand and realized it was full.  _ Right! What destroyed a keyboard faster than spilt soda! _

“Ladybug!” Chat landed next to her, chest heaving, and looked at the Lucky Charm in her hand. “Feeling a bit parched, M’lady?”

“This will help with the Amok, but I still haven’t got a clue where the Akuma is!” Ladybug hissed. She hated that she was on borrowed time now; they needed to get this done  _ fast. _ “Swap you?”

“And leave the princess to fight the dragon?” Chat clearly wasn’t as worried as he looked, if he could still make jokes, a clawed hand held over his heart. “M’lady you wound my knightly honour.”   
  
“ _ Wyvern, _ Chaton,” Ladybug corrected, already turning her attention to the Amok. “Please stay  _ away _ from that sword, that thing isn’t a prop.” 

“As my lady wishes,” Chat leapt up and away, catching the Akuma’s attention with a hollered taunt that led him away from Ladybug’s hiding spot. Unfortunately, that meant she was left all alone with an enormous, fire-breathing reptile. 

That was alright, she’d dealt with Chloé before. This thing was a walk in the park in comparison. 

_ Rude, Marinette. _

Giggling to herself even still, Ladybug swung up onto the miraculously still-standing Eiffel Tower, yo-yoing her way up as high as she possibly could before the Amok noticed her ascent. If she could just get up high enough to land on it… 

* * *

Just as she’d predicted, the liquid in her red-and-black soda can worked wonders on the keyboard that controlled the wyvern Amok. It shrieked and writhed, flinging her from its back and into the hard metal of the Tower, but the damage had been done. With an electrical  _ pop _ and a fizz of smoke, the keyboard shattered and a dusky purple feather floated up from the beast, which immediately disintegrated down into nothingness.

“No! My mount!” The Akuma shrieked in rage, making a move toward Ladybug, but Chat repelled him with his staff, blocking the downward strike that would have otherwise sliced him in two. 

“Guess you’ll have to take the metro from now on,” Chat taunted, leaping out of the way of another rage-fuelled strike. It was almost enough to distract Ladybug. Almost. 

_ Focus, Marinette, you’re almost out of time! _

Winding up, she unleashed her yo-yo toward the feather, capturing it and drawing it back toward her as she felt her Miraculous purify the thing within. 

“No more evil-doing for you little feather,” she bid, sending the little white wisp off into the sky “Bye-bye!” 

_ Not a moment too soon, _ she thought, hearing the familiar trill of her earrings counting down the seconds before her detransformation. Ladybug clung to the beams of the Tower, far too high up to signal Chat. Surely he knew she’d need to rest, he’d seen her Lucky Charm.  _ Hold on, Chat,  _ she pleaded with him, ducking out of sight of cameras behind a particularly shaded overhang to detransform. 

Tikki groaned in exhaustion as she landed in her hand, and Marinette braced herself against the suddenly much-less-sturdy-feeling metal to dig around for a macaroon. 

“Hurry, Tikki, Chat needs us back as soon as possible.”   
  
“I’m trying, Marinette, I can only eat so fast!”

Marinette clung to the steel beams around her, feeling the wind whip around her clothes in an attempt to pitch her over the edge. Without the surety that her suit gave her, she just had to hope Tikki could hurry just a  _ little _ faster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo, this is a long one. Admittedly I'm not great at fight scenes, so you'll have to excuse the lack of, well, fighting in them.  
> Also just because *I* like Chloe doesn't mean *Marinette* does. ;)
> 
> Also, the "not enough legs thing" about the Amok: typically wyverns have two legs, dragons have four, wyrms have none... I mean it's all splitting hairs but I figured that little bit of geekery would be cute to add in, and we already know Marinette's a gamer.


	17. Chat Noir

Chat Noir swore under his breath as he dodged yet another too-close swipe from the oversized blade. The Akuma had been thankfully turned the wrong way, but that hadn’t stopped Chat from noticing the telltale reddish glow of Ladybug’s detransformation. Chat prayed that Tikki ate as quickly as Plagg as he cartwheeled over the Akuma’s head, dragging his claws across the creature’s pauldron in an attempt to dislodge or weaken any part of its armour. 

All he wanted to do was to go to Marinette’s side and defend her against this hulking brute, to make sure that she was safe by keeping her beside him. But even in the depths of his instinctive drive to  _ protect _ , he understood that his distance was the only thing keeping the Akuma away from her right now. He knew she was vulnerable, and he knew her best chance was to bide their time until she could suit up again and rejoin the fray as Ladybug once more. That was his best chance at protecting her. 

And that was his job, wasn’t it? To protect his Lady? Chat smirked to himself and flipped up over the Akuma’s head, watching it flicker and  _ glitch _ out of focus before appearing just a step behind where he’d land. Using his staff to leverage himself out of harm’s way, Chat leapt up onto a building instead, taking the brief reprieve to catch his breath, and perhaps catch sight of Marinette.

“Come back here you 8-bit pest!” The Akuma roared, running to the foot of the building and glaring up at him. Hawkmoth’s mask appeared across his face and the Akuma sneered, snarling to himself. 

“Aw, come on, I’m at least 32-bit,” Chat retorted, flicking his tail over the edge and leaning against his staff in a facsimile of casualness. _If I can just distract him for long enough…_ _Please hang on, Marinette._ Chat risked a glance up toward the Eiffel Tower as if he could see her huddled against the beams, but of course, he couldn’t; even his cat eyes weren’t that good, and he’d rather not risk drawing the Akuma’s ire in his Lady’s direction. _Time to play the knight in shining armour, after all, Agreste._

Alright, he had to look for where the Akuma butterfly was housed. That would surely help Ladybug when she could get back into the action. Chat Noir peered back down at the Akuma, but…  _ Where did it go? _

He’d realized his mistake too little, too late. The by-now-familiar fizzle of the Akuma glitching back into existence behind him was his only warning before Chat felt something sharp dig into his side and pitch him off the edge of the building with all the force of a charging bull.

Distantly, Chat heard a scream as he fell. 

_ Marinette... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE DON'T KILL ME


	18. Ladybug

“Chat!” Her scream was lost to the wind, and everything around her seemed to fade to black and white except for the pinprick of activity she was so focused on. 

_ No, no no this wasn’t happening!  _ Marinette had nearly fallen off the Tower as she pitched forward in a foolish attempt to catch the black speck that had gone flying from the rooftop of one building and into the side of another.

“Tikki, we have to go!” Marinette cried, already trying to clamber her way down as gingerly as possible from her vantage point.

“Marinette, I don’t have enough power, you can’t-”   
  
“ _Tikki_ _ we have to go!” _ Marinette said again, more shrilly this time. “Spots on!”

Unlike usual, the transformation left her dizzy, disoriented, but that didn’t matter. Marinette didn’t care, so long as she could  _ get to Chat _ . She didn’t see him get up from where he’d landed, and she was already fearing the worst. 

The Akuma was taking his time, at least, laughing triumphantly while an apparently irate Hawkmoth spoke to him through their connection.  _ Good, _ Marinette thought venomously,  _ let your hubris be the end of you _ . 

“Come out wherever you are, little bug!” The Akuma called, his voice booming in the clearing that his and Chat’s fight had created. “I’ll squash you just like I did your kitty cat!”

Ladybug landed on the other side of the building Chat had hit and came  _ through _ it, finding him amongst a pile of rubble. She choked back a soft sob and began moving the debris as carefully as possible, only to very nearly give her position away with a scream when his ears twitched.

“M’lady?” He slurred, green eyes opening heavily to look at her with a dazed expression. 

“Oh, Chat… I’ll get you out of there, it’ll be alright!”    
  
“It’s… It’s his helmet,” Chat managed, squirming and then hissing in pain. Ladybug put a hand on his shoulder to stop him from moving, looking at him in quizzical concern. “The Akuma,” Chat clarified, realizing she’d clearly not understood. 

“Chat, don’t tell me you took a hit just to figure that out!” Ladybug returned to digging him out, her focus solely on the fragile rise and fall of his chest. Chat managed to chuckle, bringing a freed hand up to her cheek. 

“No... I was trying to find you. To see if you were safe.” Chat looked down at his midsection, grimacing. “I’ll be okay, Princess. The… The suit took most of it.” Something about the way he said it, or maybe the way he didn’t meet her eyes, made Ladybug try digging him out a little faster.

Then Chat’s ears twitched again, and his arm was around her, hauling her with some unknown well of strength out of the way as a blade came down where she’d stood moments before. He was up, barely, and that show of strength had obviously drained him, because he was now leaning on her half as much as he was in front of her, blocking her body with his as the Akuma laughed maniacally. 

“Ohh, I see how it is!” He crowed, a wicked gleam in his power-bright eyes. “You think you’re  _ protecting _ her? Fat lot of good you’re doing!” The Akuma rushed them, his sword held aloft, but this time Ladybug was ready. With one arm around Chat, she used her yo-yo to vault them both to higher ground. 

“M’lady, he-” Chat began, ears twitching again and green eyes narrowing as he heard something she couldn’t. With a grunt of effort, he pushed her out of the way yet again, landing above her and pinning her before she could leap up and go after the Akuma again. “Ladybug,  _ listen to me!” _

Startled, Ladybug lay beneath him, eyes wide. He’d never looked  _ angry _ before, not at her, not really. He only released her when she nodded, sitting up with their borrowed time. Chat’s ears flicked every which way, oddly much more realistically than usual, and he winced and held his side while he spoke.

“He can teleport,” Chat said in a brisk tone, keeping his eyes on the terrain. Ladybug kept her eyes on him, surveying the damage now that she could see it better. His suit hadn’t  _ torn _ , they never did, but he definitely looked worse for wear, and she only hoped that her Miraculous Ladybugs would help heal him. “He makes a sound before he reappears like he’s cutting in and out of signal… But when he’s doing his flickering and glitching, the only thing that  _ doesn’t _ is his helmet… That just disappears and reappears.” 

“...Okay Chaton,” Ladybug nodded, then bit her lip in worry. He was so injured, but she was sure they’d need his Cataclysm before this fight was over. “I’ll keep an ear out… But you need to rest while I try to deal with him, okay?” She pressed her forehead against Chat’s and ignored the way both of their faces flamed brighter than her suit. “Try to regain some strength, and don’t detransform. I don’t know how bad your injury will be if you do.”

“...Alright Princess,” Chat replied after a breathless moment, though she wasn’t sure if it was from their proximity or his injury. “I’ll be ready when you need me. Just… Please, be careful. I don’t want to lose you.”

“That’s supposed to be  _ my _ line, Chaton,” Ladybug replied, trying to keep her emotions in check long enough to get the job done. 

Oh, yes. 

This was  _ personal _ now.

* * *

_ The thing about using a glitch hack _ , Ladybug mused as she swung around the battleground,  _ is that your opponent needs to be predictable enough for you to know where to go _ . 

Unfortunately, Chat needed to land; he didn’t have the option of changing direction mid-air like she did. So when the Akuma  _ thought _ he knew where she was going and fizzled out of existence to beat her to the mark, Ladybug simply changed direction, leaving the knight nonplussed and raging even more than he had been since the  _ last _ time she’d done it.

“Hold still you stupid bug!” He fumed, swinging his sword at her in a futile attempt to reach her. “Or are you up there because you’re too weak to fight me, just like your  _ pussycat? _ ” He jeered, setting Ladybug’s teeth on edge. 

“Be careful what you wish for,” She called back, landing on the ground in a ready position and glowering at his looming figure with an icy gaze. 

The Akuma charged her, sword held over his shoulder in a preemptive overhand swing once more. She was ready, though, for his flickering, fizzling, disappearing act this time, and leapt up into a backflip that catapulted her over his re-materializing head. 

Her yo-yo shot out with a flick of her wrist, wrapping around the buster sword. With a yell of her own, she wrenched it from his grasp and sent the blade flying out of his reach, stunning the Akuma so badly that he cried out in shock. 

“Y-you! You’re not supposed to do that! I had that equipped!” He complained as Ladybug landed a few feet from him, still poised to fight. 

“Life’s not a videogame,” Ladybug replied, then grinned as she stood up more fully. “But videogame or not, you lose, Glitch.”

“Cataclysm!”

The Akuma whirled around just in time for Chat to leap onto his head and slam his hand down onto the dome of his helmet. The Akuma’s shriek matched Hawkmoth’s through their connection, and Chat leapt off to stagger into Ladybug’s arms leaning on her heavily. 

“I’ve got you, Chaton,” Ladybug crooned, bringing her yo-yo around to purify the Akuma that had begun fluttering frantically from the remains of the destroyed helmet. “No more evil-doing for you little Akuma…” After an impatient few moments, a white butterfly emerged, and Ladybug sighed in relief. “Bye-bye little butterfly.” 

Finally, Ladybug could turn her attention to her partner. She knew that Glitch was harmless now, and she took the time she could to ease Chat down onto the ground. 

“Almost done, Chaton,” She reassured, ignoring her swimming vision. “You’ll be fine in no time.” Taking up her yo-yo once more, Ladybug released it into the air, calling her familiar tagline “Lucky Charm!” 

Down dropped a… Blanket? Ladybug looked a little perturbed. It seemed slightly excessive for something that she was just going to Miraculous Ladybug away right away, but… Shrugging, Ladybug tossed the blanket into the air, calling out to the magic that never failed her before, “Miraculous Ladybug!”

The familiar  _ woosh _ of hundreds of tiny red ladybugs cascaded around them, returning the streets of Paris back to their usual glory. Ladybug waited with bated breath for them to return to perform similar miracles on the boy before her, but… 

Only a few returned, spiralling around him with a half-hearted glimmer enshrouding him in a pale pink glow. 

The two superheroes looked at one another in confusion, even as the rest of Paris cheered.

And that was all Ladybug remembered before darkness engulfed her vision entirely.

“M- Lady!”


	19. Chat Noir

Chat caught Ladybug before she hit the ground, but her Miraculous Ladybugs hadn’t properly healed him like they’d expected them to, and so he hit the ground in her stead, cradling her against his chest with a groan of pain. He wasn’t _as_ injured, sure, but he was definitely still bruised up from the fight. 

_What is going on?_ He wondered, holding his Lady protectively close. _They’ve never failed before. Is it… Is it because we know about one another?_ Was that why we were supposed to maintain their secrecy? 

Swallowing down his panic, Chat leaned down to press his ear against her chest, listening to her heartbeat steadily and sighed in relief when he felt the steady ebb and flow of her breath against his cheek. 

“Don’t scare me like that, my Lady,” Chat Noir sighed against her suit shakily, relief making him feel weaker than the Akuma’s blow could ever have. 

“Chat Noir?” A vaguely familiar, albeit much younger voice inquired. Chat turned and curled around Ladybug defensively against any impending onslaught before he realized that it wasn’t Glitch, but the human boy that Hawkmoth had taken control over. “What’s wrong with Ladybug?”

“Fight just wore her out, kid, don’t worry about it,” He replied a little too gruffly, for once not feeling his usual kind, amiable self toward the Akuma victim. “I need to get both of us to safety to recuperate, are you able to get yourself home?” He asked, already scooping Ladybug up into his arms before turning his gaze toward the teen. He winced at the expression on the kid’s face and backpedalled, shifting Ladybug’s prone form in his arms to put a hand on the kid’s shoulder. “Hey, it’s not your fault,” he soothed, urging gentleness into his tone and a slight smile onto his lips, “it’s Hawkmoth’s. Just… Make sure you try and remember that it’s just a game next time, okay?”

“I… I will, Chat Noir!” 

Nodding, Chat Noir used his staff to vault himself and Ladybug to the rooftops, and not a moment too soon. He hadn’t even heard her earrings’ warning, and yet, with a flash, she detransformed in his arms, whimpering softly as she curled a little closer from the cold. 

Tikki flew up in alarm, her own fatigue forgotten in her concern, to land on Chat’s shoulder. 

“How long do you have?” She asked him, looking down at Marinette with large blue eyes.

“What _happened_ Tikki? Why didn’t the Ladybugs work? Why is she unconscious?” Chat exploded into questions, but the sharp beeping of his ring cut him off. Seven minutes. Tikki floated over to look, nodded to herself, and then floated back up to sit near his throat this time, positioning herself just behind his bell.

“We need to see Master Fu, he’ll be able to help you both. I’ll direct you, but you need to _hurry!_ ”

“...Lead the way.”


	20. Marinette

It seemed like forever, and yet no time at all before the world slowly began to filter back into focus. First, Marinette realized that she wasn’t moving. In fact, the swaying motion was mostly in her head, and she spent an endless amount of time focusing on getting that feeling to stop. 

Whatever she was laying on was solid, and warm. Her head was slightly elevated, resting against a plush surface. Something covered her as well, trapping her body heat. Belatedly, Marinette realized she must be laying down in a bed or a cot of some sort and sighed softly, hoping that the horrible dream she’d just had, had been simply that… A dream. 

Then the sounds around her, the ones she hadn’t realized had been there, suddenly stopped. Marinette felt her instincts kick into high gear, forcing her eyes open with a suddenness that left her blinded by the sudden light even as she forced herself upward. A hand came down on her shoulder and pushed her back down, and she fought it for a moment before she realized that the grip was gentle, not forceful, coaxing, not aggressive.

“Take it easy, Princess,” pleaded the voice that finally registered to her ears, and Marinette’s body went boneless with relief and a soft cry.

“Adrien!” She exclaimed, and all at once surged back up, this time wrapping her arms around his neck as his arms came up to wrap around her middle.

“I’m right here, Marinette,” He whispered against her hair, cradling her against him in a way she could have only dreamt of a month ago, a  _ week _ ago, and she relished in it. 

“Adrien, are you okay?” Marinette asked, looking up at him and blinking away the spots from her eyes, ignoring the way her vision blurred in and out of focus. All that mattered was that  _ he _ was there and that  _ he _ was alright and alive, and- “what happened?”

“That is what I would like to know as well, now that you are awake, Marinette,” another familiar voice interrupted. Marinette turned, shrinking slightly against Adrien to see Master Fu shuffle into the room, carrying a tray of what looked like tea. 

“Master Fu!” Marinette squeaked from her hiding place behind Adrien’s protective grasp. She hadn’t had the time or, if she were being honest, the inclination, to tell him that their identities had been compromised. Her face flushed in equal parts shame and embarrassment. Disappointing Master Fu was like disappointing her parents; something she never in a million years wished to do. 

She felt Adrien adjust his hold on her and her blush deepened, this time because it occurred to her that he was  _ Adrien _ and not  _ Chat Noir _ and that the both of them were sitting in Master Fu’s apartment, completely revealed, while their Kwami were… 

Wait… Where  _ were _ their Kwami?

As if sensing her question, or perhaps just seeing the way her head darted about to look, Master Fu’s expression softened. “Tikki and Plagg are currently in the Miracle Box, catching up with the others and resting.”

“Tikki told me to bring you here,” Adrien explained, his thumb massaging soothing circles against the small of Marinette’s back that instead of relaxing her, sent a thrill of electricity through her instead. “She couldn’t think of anything else to do after you detransformed. The concern in his eyes focused Marinette’s thoughts, and she sat up a little straighter. 

“What happened?” She asked again, this time more clearly, and Adrien shifted slightly so she could see him better. Much to her pleasure, though, he seemed loathe to actually let her go. Adrien shifted somewhat uncomfortably, glancing at the old Guardian before taking a breath and focusing on Marinette. 

You… After Glitch hit me, you were focused on getting to me, I think. I don’t really remember too much after I hit that wall and the building broke down. I was trying to keep Glitch away from you and buy you time to transform back, but…” Adrien grimaced, bringing a hand to his midsection. Marinette leaned forward, putting her hand over his in concern, and looked up at him. 

“My Ladybugs helped, though, didn't they?” She asked, eyes widening when he shook his head. “What?”

“One minute you were digging me out of the rubble, and then we were fighting again, and then… Then we beat him… You distracted him enough, and I Cataclysmed his helmet, and we both thought everything would be fine, but…” Adrien looked down, then back at her. “You called on your Lucky Charm, and tossed it up, but they… There seemed to be fewer than usual. By the time they got back to us, there were only a few left, and…” 

Marinette’s face reached entirely new shades of red when Adrien moved to lift his shirt, but her squeak of protest quickly morphed into a gasp of shock. 

“Oh, Adrien!” Instead of the usual flawless skin that Marinette had expected to see, a mottle of red and purple bruising spread across Adrien’s midsection, the worst of it centring from the spot that Glitch’s sword had struck Chat Noir. Tentatively and without really thinking, Marinette reached out to very lightly brush her fingers against the bruised flesh, only for her to retract her hand sharply when Adrien winced and hissed in pain. “I’m sorry, I-!”

“It’s alright,” He managed, offering her a strained smile and dropping his shirt to cover the damaged skin back up. “I’m glad it’s only bruising instead of anything worse. I  _ did _ tell you that the suit took the brunt of the hit.” The smile he gave her then was a little easier, a little wrier, a little more like her Chat. Marinette scooted closer to him gingerly and tapped his nose in reply. 

“You  _ still _ need to be careful, Chaton,” She chided, though her words lacked their usual ire. Finally, she turned her focus to the old monk who had been waiting for them ever so patiently. “But Master, why didn’t my Miraculous Ladybugs work properly?” She asked, fighting to ignore how Adrien’s hand found hers and linked their fingers together while his attention turned to the older man as well. 

Master Fu stroked his beard in silence, his eyes closing as he ruminated. “Adrien said that you had needed to transform back, Marinette,” He said after a long moment, looking to her for confirmation. Marinette nodded wordlessly, her brows scrunching together. “Did you allow Tikki enough time to recharge before calling on her powers again?”   
  
“I…” Marinette began, but then faltered, the memories of the battle playing in her mind once more. The distant image of Chat being thrown from the roof of the building clear across the battlefield. The scream that tore from her lips. Tikki’s warning, unheard, as Marinette’s mind, could only think of  _ getting to Chat _ . “...no, I didn’t. There wasn’t enough time. If I waited any longer, Adrien, I mean Chat would…” She trailed off, quailing beneath the Guardian’s gaze

“There is no use in protecting his identity anymore, Marinette,” Master Fu chided, and Marinette winced at the gentleness of his tone, “He is sitting right here, after all.” Mutely, Marinette nodded. “How did you find out, in any case?” 

The change in topics sent Marinette reeling, and she leaned into Adrien a little more to try and stop her head from spinning. “I… We… That is…” She stopped speaking when Adrien squeezed her hand and she looked up at him. 

“It’s okay Marinette,” He smiled, and  _ that _ smile was purely Adrien, as sweet and warm as sunshine in May. A smile that, weeks ago, would have turned her insides to jelly and left her a stuttering mess. Now… Now it surprisingly helped steady her, and she nodded. 

“Ah… I suppose we should start at the beginning…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all, someone please give me props. I'm *pacing* myself. It's been 20 chapters and they've only cuddled. My younger self would have definitely not had the patience for a slow burn


	21. Adrien

So Marinette had explained, haltingly at first, then more confidently as the story progressed, everything that had happened since their very first interaction with Bunnyx. Adrien helped where he could, embellishing Marinette’s explanations when she faltered, but mostly, he was there to provide physical support. 

Adrien still didn’t like the way every so often, Marinette’s eyes would go out of focus, or the way she’d waver, lean into him, and then straighten back up as if she lost her balance. Just what had happened to cause such a reaction like this? He fretted over her like a mother hen, hardly leaving her side and hoping, no,  _ praying _ that this was not going to be permanent. 

_ Marinette, just what did you do to yourself? _ Adrien wondered, reaching past her to accept the teacup that Master Fu passed them, first handing it to Marinette, and then reaching for his own when he was sure she had a solid grip.  _ Why would you do that to yourself… For me? _

He knew he was her partner, and he knew that she cared about him on some level, but… To risk her own life like that, to go against her Kwami’s warnings like that…

Suddenly, Alya’s words from a couple of days ago - Camembert, had it only been a couple of days? - Filtered into his mind: 

_ “You really are oblivious sometimes, Agreste.” _

_Could she…?_ _No, no way_. Adrien thought, glancing at Marinette out of the corner of his eye. Even if she _did,_ this was hardly the time or place to make a scene about it, and neither of them was in any shape to do anything about it…

That last thought had Adrien brighter than Ladybug’s suit, and he noticed only too late that his distraction had caught Marinette and Master Fu’s attention.

“Adrien, are you okay?” Marinette asked, leaning over with concern in her blue eyes. “Your injuries aren’t hurting you, are they?”  _ Bless her, _ Adrien thought, pulling himself from his reverie and smiling at her warmly. 

“Not at all my Lady,” he replied, reaching up to brush an errant lock of hair from her eyes. “I’m sorry that I interrupted you.” 

“We were, uh… We um… We actually… W-waiting on you,” Marinette stammered, her face going pink and her eyes averting from his as if the intensity of his gaze was too much for her to handle. Adrien felt his own cheeks tint more, and he cleared his throat quickly. 

“O-oh,” Adrien replied lamely, bringing an arm up to ruffle the hair at the back of his neck before wincing and thinking better of it. “A-ah, would you...?”

“See, this is why I bet Sugarcube that it’d take longer than a week. You’re  _ hopeless _ , kid.” Drawled a familiar black form from one side of the room, and Adrien felt his shoulders drop tension he didn’t know he was holding. 

“Plagg!” He admonished anyway, while the cat Kwami floated over to him to hover near his shoulder.

“Just saying,” Plagg shrugged, turning his attention to Marinette, “Tikki’s still in there resting, but she wanted me to tell you that she’s alright and that she understands why you did it. It was stupid,” Plagg eyed her judgementally, and Adrien saw Marinette shrink like a violet beneath his feline gaze, “but she gets it.” 

“Uh… T-thank you, Plagg,” Marinette mumbled, even as Plagg floated toward Master Fu, who seemed to already have an impossibly small set of teacups ready and waiting for just such a visit. 

“Don’t suppose you have any camembert?” Plagg asked halfheartedly. The old man chuckled, then gestured to Adrien. Adrien sighed, shifting himself away just enough from Marinette to rummage around in his breast pocket for his post-transformation stash. 

“So uh,” Adrien cleared his throat again, the heat of embarrassment still tingling against his skin, “What was it you were… Waiting on me for?” 

“Oh, um..” Marinette blushed again, glancing at Master Fu before continuing, “Master Fu wanted to know what your theories were… What you meant in full when you were telling me about… About how things were different, and about how finding out about one another differently would have changed the future.” 

The Guardian nodded, turning his attention for Adrien fully. “I understand you have some theories about the fluidity of time, Adrien. I would like to hear about them, to see if they match my understanding of Fluff’s abilities.” Adrien nodded, suddenly feeling the certainty of his theories crumbling beneath the monk’s scrutiny.  _ If I’m wrong, I could lose everything. I could lose Plagg… I could lose the freedom Chat Noir gives me… I could lose Ladybug! _

… But he wouldn’t, not really. He glanced at Marinette again and saw her smiling at him encouragingly. Right or not, he wouldn’t really lose his Lady, even if the worst-case scenario came to pass and they  _ did _ have to renounce their Miraculous. Catching her hand with his again, Adrien took a few careful breaths to calm the anxiety clawing its way up his throat and steadied his voice.

“Well… Time isn’t linear, is it? That’s… That’s how we could use Sass’ power against Desperada.” Adrien began carefully, feeling his way as if still hashing the theory out himself. “Viperion created time-loops every time he used the bracelet, and each time he did that, he  _ stopped _ a particular future from occurring… We don’t remember that future, only the one that was  _ actually _ allowed to persist, because in using Sass’ power, Viperion basically  _ rewrote time _ ,” Adrien paused, glancing between the two as if to confirm he was right. 

When neither Marinette nor Master Fu said anything, Adrien swallowed his nervousness again and continued, his words now stumbling over one another as he tried to get them out.

“So if Fluff’s magic works on similar rules, then… Then any timeline that is actively acted  _ against  _ would either alter or cease to exist, wouldn’t it?” Adrien theorized, looking between them again. “If Marinette went back to before the inciting incident of the Chat Blanc timeline and stopped it from happening… Then perhaps that was enough to stop that timeline from happening  _ at all _ ,” Adrien looked at Marinette now, hopeful, and squeezed her hand. “I found out in a  _ different _ way, and she found out about me in short order afterwards.” 

Adrien frowned, his gaze clouding in concern now, “I think that Bunnyx is a strong ally, Master Fu, but I also think that her time-hopping is… Tempestuous.” He looked up at the Guardian. “She wants time to reflect how  _ she _ remembers it. I… I don’t know if that’s right.” He looked down now at the rug beneath them, “but… But our future selves trusted her with a Miraculous, so…”

“So you are understandably conflicted,” Master Fu interjected, and Adrien nodded. Master Fu sighed and nodded as well, leaning back onto his heels and crossing his arms in front of him, thinking deeply. “I will need time to consider the gravity of this information, and discuss it with both Sass and Fluff,” He said finally, looking toward the retrofitted gramophone sitting on the cabinet. 

“In the meantime, I suggest that  _ both of you _ rest as much as you can. The tea that I prepared will help you recuperate your bodies and spirits, but my remedies can only do so much.” Master Fu gave Adrien a piercing look then, and it took all that Adrien had within him not to skitter back behind Marinette like a frightened kitten. “Young man, you have been entrusted with an  _ incredible _ amount of knowledge by Marinette. To know Ladybug’s identity, and for her to know yours is to hold the fate of this world in the palm of each others’ hands.” the old monk fixed both teens with a narrow gaze, and Adrien swallowed his nerves. 

“The bond you two share as partners is a strong one.  _ Lean on that _ , for I fear you may need that now more than ever.” Fu continued, peering between the two. “Marinette,” he intoned, his gaze landing on the noirette girl at Adrien’s side, “I recommend you listen to your Kwami next time. Using the power of a Miraculous before your Kwami has fully restored their energy has catastrophic results for both the Host and the Kwami.”

Adrien watched the alarm surge into Marinette’s eyes, and her attention flew toward the gramophone. Master Fu raised a hand, and Marinette froze. “Tikki will be fine,” he reminded her, “but I do not suggest you do again what you did today again.” 

“I… I won’t Master!” Adrien didn’t like how clearly horrified Marinette looked and put his hand on her shoulder comfortingly. She jumped, apparently having forgotten that he was there (and he would  _ not _ pout about that) but the grateful smile she sent his way was more than enough to make up for it.

“Good,” Clearly satisfied, Master Fu stood up. Both teens scrambled to their feet, and as if on cue, Tikki floated out of the gramophone’s horn and landed in Marinette’s outstretched hand. Plagg floated over to Adrien and landed in his breast pocket, conveniently right where Adrien kept his cheese stash.

“Finally! You took  _ forever, _ ” the black cat complained, “let’s  _ go _ already.”

“Thank you for letting us rest here,” Adrien said to the older man, looking at Master Fu with a slight smile. “I understand now why Marinette trusts you so much.”

“And now I understand better why she is so besotted with you, Adrien Agreste,” Fu replied with a twinkle in his eye that had Marinette beet red and all but shoving Adrien out the door. 

“ThankyouMasterFuhaveagreatdayokaybye!”

Out on the street with a fuming, blushing Marinette, Adrien couldn’t help but grin.

_ Besotted? _


	22. Lila

If her plan was going to work, it would need to be _perfect_. Of course, for that to happen, Lila needed to know just _what_ was going on between Adrien and Marinette Dupain-Cheng… And for _that_ to happen, Lila mused, she’d have to do some digging. 

_Ugh, I hate getting my hands dirty._

Lila played with one of the ponytails draped over her shoulders as she mulled her thoughts over, wondering what the best way to approach her next course of action was as she perused her phone. Asking Adrien or Marinette directly was of course out of the question; Adrien was loyal to an annoying fault, and that idiot baker’s daughter would just stumble over herself so badly that Lila would die of old age before getting any pertinent information. 

Alya, perhaps? No… Her loyalty to Dupain-Cheng was stronger even than her desire to gossip, despite how hard the girl worked to pair her friend up with Adrien. Lila scoffed in irritation, scrolling through her contact’s list. Aside from that, Alya’s increasing nosiness had been getting on Lila’s nerves of late, and Lila was sure that the blogger was growing increasingly wary of Lila’s… _Embellishments_. Frustrated, Lila kicked herself away from her desk and stood, prowling her way over to her window and flicking the blinds open just enough to peer outside.

It was a good thing she had, it seemed. Below, she could just make out Adrien and Marinette walking down the street, side by side. _Where were they coming from?_ Lila wondered, glancing back the way they had come in a futile attempt to see anything recognizable. Of course, she saw nothing and growled to herself in further frustration. 

Returning her gaze to the pair, she bristled when she noticed Adrien slip his hand into Marinette’s, her olive-green eyes narrowing further when she saw that instead of jumping away and stammering some lame excuse as Lila had expected, Marinette merely _smiled_ , her blush still present but significantly less disastrous than usual, and _kept her hand where it was_. 

_What was going on?_ Lila fumed, resisting the urge to storm out of her apartment and rip that useless girl away from Adrien herself. _Last week she couldn’t even look at him without turning into a blubbering mess and now she’s casually walking down the street holding his hand!_

Deciding that enough was _enough,_ Lila grabbed her keys and made her way out of her apartment, being sure to tail the pair from a safe distance while she watched. It was disgusting, seeing them smiling and laughing as if they were an actual _couple;_ as if they hadn’t been awkwardly side-stepping one another for the past four years. 

Marinette laughed at something Adrien said, and the sound made Lila see red. It wasn’t her usual forced, overly-giddy laugh, but the pure, happy laugh that truly meant she was suddenly comfortable around the blonde. She even shoved at his shoulder, and said something back to him that made him grin and blush! _How dare she!_ Lila snarled to herself and skirted around a side-street, one that she knew would let her out in front of their path. If she was going to act, it would need to be _now_ , damn anybody who got in her way!

Sure enough, she came out onto the main street a block or so ahead of Adrien and Marinette, who were still so lost in their own little world that they hadn’t noticed her. _Ugh,_ she wrinkled her nose in momentary disgust, but then smoothed her features into a warm smile and donned a façade of innocent interest. 

“Adrien! Marinette!” She called, extending one hand above her head in a wave and raising herself onto her toes slightly as if to be seen above the crowd. The two stopped and their responses, though similar, were still worlds apart. Adrien had always been kind to her, and although he was wary of her, he still donned his usual polite smile and raised his hand in a wave. Marinette on the other hand, oh, Lila knew there was no getting through to her. Ever since Lila had attempted to expel her from Françoise Dupont, Marinette had made sure that she was never alone with Lila again, and frankly, Lila had commended her for it. 

Marinette had tightened her hold on Adrien’s arm and her eyes had gone from sparkling and happy to icy in the time it took for her to make eye-contact with Lila, the smile slipping from her face in the same amount of time. To his credit, Adrien seemed to notice, and squeezed her hand in reassurance, murmuring something to her that Lila couldn’t hear, though it didn’t seem to do much to relax the girl. _Heh, it’s because she knows better._ Lila smirked to herself. 

“It’s so amazing running into you two here!” Lila preened, approaching them within a few steps and not missing how Marinette tensed more. “How have you been? We haven’t seen much of each other since moving onto Lycee! Oh!” She widened her eyes and brought her hands up to her mouth as if only having just seen the intimacy of their handhold. “Oh my goodness, Marinette! Are you and Adrien _on a date?_ ” She was pleased to see the blush that cascaded over the other girl’s face, but Adrien simply adjusted his hold and tilted his head to the side. 

“What would you like, Lila?” He asked, sidestepping the question with a fencer’s grace. Lila tossed her hair behind her shoulder and looked up at him, smiling flirtatiously. 

“I noticed that there was a new café open on Rue de Marseilles, you should join me!” She purred, sending a smirk over at Marinette even as she reached up to fix Adrien’s shirt collar, listening with delight as she heard Marinette’s indignant gasp. Before she could say another word, though, or even before Marinette could interject, Adrien used his free hand to catch hers and replace it firmly at her side, shaking his head. 

“Sorry, Lila, but Marinette and I already have plans,” He said, moving his hand from Marinette’s to wrap his arm around her waist instead. This incited an excited, embarrassed squeak from the noirette and caused Lila to narrow her eyes. “But hey, thanks for the suggestion, we’ll be sure to check it out next time we’re in the 10th Arrondissement, right Marinette?”

“Y-yeah,” Marinette stammered, much closer to her usual stumbling self than she’d been only minutes before. “Thanks, Lila.” Recovering herself somewhat, she leaned into Adrien and _put her head on his shoulder_ , “we’ll see you at school, kay?” 

Then they walked away. They walked away from her as if she didn’t matter. As if Lila meant nothing to them, and oh, how that mistake would _cost them_. 

_Adrien Agreste, I am_ done _playing nice with you._ Lila fumed, her rage seething off of her in waves. _You’ve gone too far, you’ve_ rejected _the wrong girl._

_You’re going to regret ever having met Marinette Dupain-Cheng._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I am so sorry for the delay in posting. Trying to figure out how I wanted to villainize Lila took a lot more brainpower than I originally thought it would! Now that I've set the groundwork oh _boy_ is this going to get good.


	23. Marinette

Marinette looked over her shoulder as she and Adrien left Lila fuming on the street corner, her uncertainty growing more prevalent with each step they took. She couldn’t  _ believe _ she’d just done that! She basically just confirmed to  _ Lila Rossi _ of all people that she and Adrien were dating. She didn’t even know if they were dating! She didn’t know  _ what _ this was, now that the two of them knew their masked identities! They had just been returning from Master Fu’s and had been laughing about his penchant for flower-pattern shirts when Adrien had slipped his hand into hers and she’d  _ let him _ and then Lila had come and…

And then he’d put his arm around her waist and pulled her away as if she were the only person that mattered. It took Marinette far too long to realize that she’d already acted, and  _ oh focaccia and cheese  _ she’d put her head on Adrien’s shoulder as if it were the most natural thing in the world…

_ And it was. _

“What’s on your mind, Purrincess?” Adrien whispered into her ear, and Marinette jumped at his closeness, though she shouldn’t have. When she turned to look at him, her face flaming, she saw a familiar cat-like grin on his face, and gently shoved at his shoulder again. 

“Just… Just thinking about Lila and… And what if she gets akumatized again?” Marinette frowned, looking down at her feet as they walked. “She’s always been troublesome, ever since Collége, but at least when we switched schools she backed off a bit… But now that she thinks we’re…” Marinette trailed off, glancing at Adrien again, and his grin widened more.

“A couple?” Her face flamed, but she nodded. “Are we?” He asked, derailing her completely.

“W-What?” Marinette stopped dead in the street, staring up at him with wide eyes, only to stumble as the person behind her buffeted into her from the sudden obstacle.

“Hey watch it, miss!”

“Oh, s-sorry!”

Adrien chuckled and pulled her over to the side, drawing her against him in a way that certainly did  _ nothing _ to calm her nerves or settle the blush that threatened to overtake her entire body. He looked down at her with gentle green eyes, his hands resting on her waist. 

“We know about one another now, and… You’re my Lady. I don’t want to ever be apart from you, Marinette, whether we’re in costume or out of them.” 

“I must be dreaming…” Marinette whimpered, and Adrien raised an eyebrow, his earnest look becoming playful once again. 

“Well I  _ have _ been told that I’m quite dreamy,” he teased, and Marinette groaned at the pun, burying her face against his chest. She hid there, safe for now, pretending for the moment that it was smooth, supple leather instead of soft cotton, and pretending just for a moment that when she looked up his face would be covered by a mask.  _ But why does it matter? Adrien is Chat Noir, and Chat Noir is Adrien… What I say to one, I can say to the other, right? _

_ Oh, why is this so difficult? _

“I mean it, Marinette,” Adrien murmured more softly this time, even as his hand came up to stroke her hair. “Would you… Would you have me? I know you said that your heart was held by another, but… It’s been years since then and maybe…” He trailed off, his voice hopeful, and Marinette had to stifle a giggle.  _ Oh, how absolutely ridiculous we’ve been all this time! _   
  
“It was you…” She murmured against his chest, unable to keep her giggles in any longer.

“W-what?” Adrien pulled her back, his gorgeous green eyes wide in shock, in hope, in… Marinette bit back another giggle, almost picturing the black leather cat ears atop his head. 

“That other person I’d given my heart to all those years ago… I was talking about  _ you _ , Adrien.” She explained, biting her lip and smiling around the gesture. 

“You mean…”

“Yes!” Marinette giggled, bringing her hand up to stifle the sound.   


“Oh. My. God.” Adrien started laughing, and then Marinette couldn’t hold it in anymore. Soon, they were collapsing against one another, laughing so hard that tears leaked from their eyes. They laughed at the missed moments, laughed at the loneliness and the awkwardness and the pain. Laughed at the stupidity of youth and the miscommunication and the sheer hilarity of their situation until their sides ached. 

Then they simply clung together, holding one another for dear life, as if letting go would surely mean they’d awaken from this crazed fever dream and they’d return to whatever normal they’d escaped from. Marinette hugged herself against Adrien, burrowing her face into the crook of his arm and closed her eyes, relishing in the moment to simply  _ be _ with him. 

Eventually, the two broke apart, cheeks flushed and eyes glittering. Marinette felt a joy bubbling in her chest that she’d never experienced before and beamed at Adrien, who smiled right back at her with similar jubilation. 

“So... Does that mean yes?” He asked, catching her hand again and playing with her fingers, tentative and hopeful once more. “Will you be with me, Marinette Dupain-Cheng?” Marinette giggled again, her every movement light as she wrapped her arms around his neck. 

“Silly kitty, I always have been,” she smiled, gently butting her forehead against his, “whether I knew it or not!”

The smile he gave her lit the sky like the dawn. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all, I'm _very_ proud of myself. 23 chapters in and they _still haven't kissed!_ Man, if 13-year-old me could see me now! (Lol they'd be so furious xD) 
> 
> Thank you all for the continued reviews and kudos and love! I try to reply to each review and it absolutely makes my day when I see your responses in my inbox <3


	24. Marinette

Marinette still couldn’t believe that she and  _ Adrien Agreste _ were dating. After endless embarrassments on her part, and likely his, and so many years, they were finally dating. Marinette felt like she could  _ scream _ she was so happy.

But right now, she had to contain herself. Because Master Fu had asked her to come back  _ without _ Adrien so that he could explain to her just what had happened to her. She didn’t understand why Adrien couldn’t be a part of this conversation too, but Marinette had obligingly returned to the old Guardian’s loft the next day. She now sat across from him at the traditionally low table, fighting the urge to fidget beneath his scrutinizing gaze. 

“Marinette,” Master Fu began, his voice not unkind but still serious, “do you remember what happened, now that you’ve had some time to think about it?” Marinette bowed her head, feeling like she was back in le primaire getting reprimanded by a schoolteacher.

“I… I remember seeing the Akuma appear behind Chato- Chat Noir,” Marinette corrected herself, her cheeks tinting as she nearly slipped on the pet name. “I saw it send him across the length of the battlefield into a building, and saw it collapse onto him as he fell… I... I knew who he was by then, Master Fu, and I will not pretend that I was not scared for the life of my partner… My friend.” She looked up at him with a flare of defiance in her eyes, daring him to say anything to the contrary. When Master Fu remained silent, Marinette took a breath and continued.

“I… I hadn’t transformed back. Tikki wasn’t… She wasn’t fully restored but… But I pushed her to transform me,” Marinette looked over to her Kwami then, reaching over for the tiny luck god to perch on her hand. “I’m so sorry, Tikki,” She murmured to her friend, bringing her hand over to hold Tikki in front of her. “I shouldn’t have pushed you like that, I should have  _ listened  _ to you.” 

“It’s okay, Marinette,” Tikki replied, floating up and pressing a tiny, feather-light kiss to the tip of Marinette’s nose. “Chat Noir was in trouble, and we both know how you get when either Chat or Adrien is hurt. When it’s  _ both _ of them, it’s only to be expected that all reason goes out the window!” 

“Forgiving as you may be Tikki,” Master Fu intoned, drawing both their attention back to him, “it is imperative that you understand what occurred so that this never happens again.” He reached around and pulled his tablet from where it had been sitting beside him, setting it down on the table and turning it on. 

“Marinette, you know that each Kwami is attached to their respective Miraculous; it is their sacrifice in exchange for the ability to communicate with mortals, for good or ill.” Master Fu scrolled through the semi-translated pages of the ancient texts as he spoke, his eyes on the digitized tome rather than her. Marinette leaned forward, Tikki sitting atop her head now for a better vantage point. “As a Miraculous holder, you draw your powers from your Kwami  _ through _ your Miraculous and in turn, your Miraculous tells you when your Kwami needs you to rest.” 

Marinette nodded, knowing this already, but decidedly stayed quiet. If she were to interrupt now, she would undoubtedly break the spell that Master Fu’s was weaving through the room. “However, there is another thing that you do not know. If you misuse your Miraculous, if you  _ overuse _ them, then the ill effects could transfer through your Miraculous to your Kwami.” At Marinette’s gasp, Master Fu nodded.

“It is my belief that if you transform before your Kwami is ready, you could risk damaging your Miraculous and in turn cause harm to your Kwami.” Marinette reached up and covered Tikki protectively, drawing her down off of her head and tucking the little red Kwami under her chin instead. 

“I’m okay, Marinette,” she heard Tikki’s soft, tinkling voice soothe, her tiny hand patting where she could reach on Marinette’s neck. 

“Do… Do you think that…” Marinette stammered while her free hand clenched and unclenched on her lap. Master Fu looked up from the tablet, his ancient, troubled gaze locking on her curiously. “Do you think that’s what happened to Duusu, Master?” Master Fu’s sudden sharp gasp told Marinette that he had not, in fact, made that connection, but Marinette pressed on. “Would that explain how the Peacock Miraculous broke?”

“It… Would certainly confirm my theory if so,” Master Fu said slowly, leaning back away from the tablet and stroking his beard. He closed his eyes in thought for a moment, then opened them when Marinette shifted slightly. “Is something else on your mind, Marinette?”

“Well, I…” Marinette huffed softly, her nose scrunching as she fought the blush that threatened to betray her again. “Why did you ask for me to be here and not Adrien?” She asked finally, looking up at the older man. “He knows who you are now, and…”   


“And I cannot pretend that you will not tell him everything that was said between us the next time you see him,” Master Fu chuckled, and there it went, Marinette lamented, feeling the blush overcome her face once more. “I asked you here because I wish for you to be prepared to become a Guardian, Marinette, in the event that I need to relinquish the title to you.”

Marinette startled, staring up at Master Fu with wide eyes. He’d never told her this before, and frankly, the idea of being a Guardian for  _ all _ the Miraculous scared her. To have that much responsibility on top of being Ladybug seemed overwhelming. She was only a teenager! 

“But Master-!” Master Fu held up a hand, silencing her protest.

“It is a failsafe, Marinette, nothing more. I have no intention of going anywhere,” he reassured her, and she caught the glimmer of a smile in his eyes. Relaxing only slightly, Marinette managed a smile back, but couldn’t help the sense of foreboding that had come with his announcement. 

She couldn’t help the feeling that he was saying goodbye. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to say a big thank you to my partner for helping me through these last couple of chapters. He's been my sounding board on more than one occasion and without him I'd have never been able to properly villainize Lila or get half my words out the way I wanted them to be. (Sometimes I feel more tongue-tied than Marinette at an Adrien swimsuit photoshoot!) 
> 
> Anyway, I may be delayed in updating for a little bit, I'm experiencing some computer troubles and lamentably may not be able to write for the next couple days. Fear not! When the cat's away, the plot bunnies play!


	25. Adrien

Adrien wasn’t used to walking up to the side door of the Dupain-Cheng bakery. Usually, he came through the front door as a customer, or through the patio hatch as Chat Noir. But no, today he was calling on Marinette as himself, and it was wreaking hell on his nerves. Taking a steadying breath, he reached a shaking hand out to ring the doorbell, then quickly buried his hand back in the pocket of his jacket.

When the door opened, Adrien smelled the warmth of the bakery waft out into the coolness of the early evening air. He’d always loved the smell of bakeries and by extension, loved the way the smell clung to Marinette. It amazed Adrien that it had been dampened so thoroughly while she was Ladybug; he hadn’t thought anything could erase its presence. 

But it wasn’t Marinette who stood in the doorway. Instead, her father looked down at Adrien with a curious look in his dove-grey eyes, and Adrien swallowed his sudden anxieties. Even if Tom Dupain didn’t remember, or know his secret identity, Adrien remembered the last time he’d ‘dated’ the baker’s daughter. Memories of Chat’s fight with the lycanthropic Akuma and his and Ladybug’s  _ Jacques et le haricot magique _ rescue of Marinette (though, come to think of it now, Adrien mused, Marinette must have rescued  _ herself _ while Chat had been distracted with the Akuma fight…) all flashed behind Adrien’s eyes.

“Adrien Agreste!” M. Dupain boomed jovially, his eyes now glittering with his usual good-nature. “Come in, come in! Marinette is helping Sabine finish up in the kitchen, you’re  _ just _ in time for dinner!” Before Adrien could get a word in, the larger man swept him inside and firmly shut the door behind them, clapping his large hands together and humming happily to himself. “No allergies I hope?” He called back over his shoulder. 

“N-no, sir!” Adrien managed, shucking off his shoes and shedding his outer layers. The inside of the apartment was very hot, though that was to be expected; Adrien assumed that the bakery’s oven ran almost every hour of the day to keep up with demand. Nervously, he followed M. Dupain into the kitchen, where he found Marinette and Mme Cheng up to their elbows in flour. 

“Adrien!” Marinette beamed, looking like she wanted to rush over to him. She even started to move, but thought better of it at the last moment, looking down at herself. “Ah…” She blushed, then grinned. “Sorry, we’re almost done,” She smiled apologetically, but Adrien held up his hands.

“No, please…” He looked curiously across the counter where Mme Cheng was kneading a dough comprised of what seemed to be simply eggs, flour and salt. “Can I do anything to help?” He asked at the last minute. Mme Cheng looked up then, smiling at him in a way that was so familiarly maternal that it startled Adrien for a moment. 

“You can help Tom set the table, dear.” 

Adrien nodded and left the kitchen, wetting his lips hesitantly with his tongue before he poked his head into the dining room. It was only separated by a simple archway, so it wasn’t as if he could  _ hide _ but…

“Cat got your tongue, kid?” Plagg muttered in his ear, causing Adrien to jump.

“Plagg! You need to hide!” Adrien hissed in reply, glancing around to make sure that M. Dupain wasn’t near enough to hear anything. Plagg gave him a deadpan look, then just floated up in front of his face. “Plagg!”

“What’s got you so worried, kid?” Plagg asked, looking at Adrien intently. Adrien sighed, bringing his hand up to ruffle the hair at the back of his head. 

“What if they don’t like me?” He asked quietly, averting his gaze away from his Kwami. He heard Plagg sigh in exasperation and shot him a look. “Why ask if you’re just going to-”

“Kid, you make their daughter happy,” Plagg replied as if it were the simplest thing in the world. 

“But last time-”

“Last time was different.” Plagg cut him off, tiny black arms creating a slashing motion. “Just go help Marinette’s dad with the table already. I’m going to go find Tikki.” Adrien watched as Plagg disappeared up through the ceiling just as M. Dupain poked his head around the corner. 

“Adrien, would you grab the cutlery?” He asked, as if having Adrien over were a common occurrence. “Just in that hutch on your left.” At his instruction, Adrien found the cutlery easily enough and brought it over to the table. It was only by the grace of his own curiosity that he’d learned such things as setting tables, but he was grateful for it now; he couldn’t imagine how embarrassed he’d be if he’d had to admit ignorance. 

Suddenly, a petite albeit warm body pressed against him from behind, and arms wrapped around his waist. Adrien sighed in relief, his eyes closing for the barest moment. 

“Come on,  _ Chaton, _ ” he heard Marinette whisper against his back, and Adrien couldn’t suppress a shiver. “We have a couple of minutes before the food’s done, and Maman doesn’t need me anymore.” Marinette’s hand slipped down to catch his, and Adrien didn’t miss the knowing glimmer in M. Dupain’s eyes before Marinette led him into the living room. 

It was only when Marinette turned to face him that Adrien saw how her brow had knit in her parents’ absence. In two strides, he had her in his arms, and she hid against him, leaning into him as much as he did her. 

“What did Master Fu say?” He murmured, his lips centimetres from her ear so he needn’t speak more than a whisper. Marinette shook her head and sighed. 

“I’ll… I’ll explain about all that later…” She replied, looking up at him. “I just… I’ve got a really bad feeling, Adrien, and it’s not… I’ve been hiding it from my parents all day...” She sounded exhausted, Adrien thought, and he held her tighter. 

“Come here then Princess,” He murmured, leading her to the couch and sitting down with her. “You don’t need to hide anything from me.” She curled up against him, her already small body fitting against him and seeming so much smaller with whatever was weighing on her. Adrien pulled her closer and rested his cheek on her head, rubbing her arm gently. “We can talk about it after dinner if you want? If I can’t stay as Adrien, I’ll come back as Chat Noir.”

“N-No, you can stay as you are. My parents already suspected that you’d be here for a while,” Marinette blushed, and Adrien hid a smile. Now wasn’t the time to be giddy at the prospect of going up to Marinette’s room  _ as Adrien _ with her parents’ blessing. 

“Kids!” Mme Cheng called from the dining room, tactfully refraining from poking her head in, “dinner!” 

* * *

After a delicious meal was eaten and the washing up was done, Adrien and Marinette had retired up to her bedroom under express orders from M. Dupain to keep the hatch door open. Marinette had turned bright red and had stammered and stuttered the entire way up, but Adrien had merely grinned lopsidedly and bid her parents goodnight. 

Once upstairs, Adrien caught Marinette around the waist, unable to resist the urge to tease her, and pulled her against his chest. 

“So which one of us is going to tell them about all the times I’ve  _ already _ been up here with the hatch closed?” He purred into her ear. 

“Adrien!” As expected, she gasped and leapt away from him, reaching for one of the many stuffed animals and throwing it in his general direction. Adrien laughed and caught it, setting it down nearby. 

“Sorry Buginette, you just make it so easy,” he replied, holding his hands up in surrender. Marinette narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him but lowered the other toy she’d snatched up as ammunition, putting it back down on her dresser. “So, what did Master Fu say?” Adrien’s tone turned serious as he approached her again. Her blush died down and she sighed, settling from her awkward pose and tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. 

Adrien rested his hands on her waist again once as he neared her, and she sighed into his embrace once more, letting him wrap his arms around her. Wordlessly, he led her to her chaise and sat them down, positioning them so that he sat behind her. Marinette hummed softly in contentment and leaned back against his chest, closing her eyes against the world. 

They sat like that as she told him what the Guardian of the Miraculous had told her. Of the taxation their Kwami faced if they did not give them enough time to recuperate and of the old Master’s theories about the damage that could be done to their Miraculous if they pushed too far. 

When Marinette choked on her words, her voice thickened with guilt, Adrien held her while her emotions spilt over.

“I could h-have hurt Tikki!” She gasped as she wept, clinging to him while Adrien rubbed her back, nuzzling her hair and humming softly in as close an approximation of a purr as he could while not suited up. “I could have done something a-awful to her without even k-knowing!”

“But you didn’t, Princess,” he reasoned, rubbing small, soothing circles with his thumb between her shoulders. “Tikki’s alright, and now we know better.” He tipped her chin up, his breath catching slightly at just how  _ beautiful _ she looked, even with red-rimmed and tear-stained eyes. “ _ We _ know better now. You’re not alone in this, Marinette. I’m right here beside you.” He cupped her cheek in his hand, gently wiping her tears away with his thumb. “I’ll always be beside you, m’lady.” He felt her lean into his palm and felt his breath hitch again when she turned to press her lips to the pulse point at his wrist. 

“I know you are,” she breathed in reply, her voice still thick with emotion but thankfully steady. “Adrien, I… Uhm…” She looked up at him, but then looked away, whatever she was thinking causing a deep blush to creep it’s way up her neck and stain her cheeks. Adrien stayed where he was, transfixed. It was as if he only just realized that they were close enough that he could see the different shades of blue in her eyes.

It took him a moment to realize that she’d asked him a question, and blushed at being caught. 

“I’m sorry Princess, but your eyes were just so captivating… Could you say that again?”

“Oh, I um... “ Marinette looked away from him again turned a few shades redder, fidgeting, but seemed to steel herself, and the determination in her eyes when she looked back at him was  _ pure _ Ladybug.

“I… Can I kiss you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Adrien's easily distracted by just how pretty his Princess is, but can you blame him? He's still a teenage boy, after all. 
> 
> I'm BACK (sort of)! Turns out I can macgyver my cord to functionality with a bit of electrical tape while I wait for my new cord. 
> 
> As for the Jack and the Beanstalk reference if any of y'all actually _speak_ French, please let me know if I got that right. I know the original tale is of English origin and Google is a shaky translation ally at best, so if it's got a different title in French, please let me know!


	26. Marinette

The minute the words left her lips, she regretted it. Adrien just _stared_ at her wordlessly, his mouth gaping like a fish’s with his eyes so wide she worried they’d fall out. Marinette brought her hand up to nervously tuck her hair behind her ear, already shying, already coming up with an excuse, a reason to back out of the inquiry, a reason to get away from the situation that was increasingly making her want to die of embarrassment.

He’d just… He’d been so sweet, and he’d been _there_ holding her and comforting her fears and she realized that he’d _always_ been there this entire time. With or without the suit, he’d been there for her, and it just made her love him more, and oh, _god_ now she was making a fool of herself even more than in their Collége days… _Why can’t you ever just stop, Marinette?_

“I.. I-It’s okay, Adrien, you… Just forget I said anything… I.. Yeah I should… I’m going to go, um… I…” Marinette stammered her excuses, already disentangling herself from him because _of course_ she was practically in his lap already, and made to get up, but…

But she felt his hand on her wrist, and turned back around, looking at him with wide eyes of her own.

“Marinette,” Adrien murmured, and Marinette gasped softly, never having heard him say her name quite like _that_ before. Marinette let him gently draw her back down toward him, transfixed by the way his eyes seemed to have turned molten in their intensity. “My Lady, I have been waiting for _years_ for you to ask me that.” Marinette hesitated, hearing the all-too-familiar endearment, and Adrien’s head tilted slightly in silent inquiry.

“Have… Have you been waiting to hear that from _Ladybug_ or from _Marinette_?” She asked quietly, and she couldn’t meet his gaze. She couldn’t because if she saw a truth that she knew would be there, then-

“Both,” Adrien replied simply, tilting her head up, making her look at him. “Marinette, you _are_ Ladybug. You’ve been my everyday Ladybug since my first day of Collége, and you’ve been my Lady fighting beside me all these years…” His hand shifted, and he cupped her cheek, and that molten gaze turned gentle, his affection obvious. “I couldn’t be happier that you’re one and the same.”

Marinette trembled against his hand, her heart beating so wildly in her chest that had he been transformed, she was sure Adrien would have heard it. _He could probably hear it anyway_ , she thought, even as her eyes slid from his, down to his lips.

“S-so may I…?”

“If you don’t, Purrincess, then I will,” Adrien smirked, leaning slightly closer to her with a mischievous look in his eyes, though Marinette didn’t see it. Instead, she was focused on his lips, and if she just moved that _tiny bit closer…_

She heard Adrien chuckle and blushed, but to his credit, he seemed to be staying still, waiting for _her_ to make the move. This only resulted in her blushing more, but then she closed her eyes and-

And then she was kissing Adrien Agreste, and oh, he was kissing her _back_ and oh, it was even better than her wildest dreams because _it was real_ and he _knew who she was_ and _he was kissing her anyway_.

Marinette could die happy.

After what felt like too little time, but what had obviously been enough because her lungs were _screaming_ for air, they broke apart. Marinette felt that her cheeks were as flushed as she saw Adrien’s to be, and her lips quirked right along with his as the two of them both stumbled headlong into laughter. Their relief bubbled up and over and they found one another blindly, clinging to one another and peppering each other with such small, chaste kisses that it felt like the brush of butterfly wings. But no butterfly could touch them here. There wasn’t an Akuma for miles that could withstand the sheer _joy_ radiating from the loft atop the Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie that day.

And no Akuma did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I left you hanging a little, so for your viewing pleasure, I present you with a little GIF of precisely what Adrien looked like for those few minutes that he processed what Marinette had asked him:  
> https://pin.it/34mxxAR


End file.
